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

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.56 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%.

Washington Trust Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years. Washington Trust Bancorp has a payout ratio of 71.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Washington Trust Bancorp to earn $3.12 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 71.8%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of WASH traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.54. The company had a trading volume of 149,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $607.97 million, a P/E ratio of -20.35 and a beta of 0.80. Washington Trust Bancorp has a twelve month low of $24.11 and a twelve month high of $40.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.82 and its 200-day moving average is $33.13.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Washington Trust Bancorp had a positive return on equity of 8.99% and a negative net margin of 6.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WASH. StockNews.com raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

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.