Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.56

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 19th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.56 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, October 11th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st.

Washington Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Washington Trust Bancorp has a payout ratio of 91.1% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities analysts expect Washington Trust Bancorp to earn $2.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 91.4%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WASH opened at $32.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.82. The stock has a market cap of $559.74 million, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.79. Washington Trust Bancorp has a 1-year low of $21.69 and a 1-year high of $34.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $102.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.