WASH

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. - Net Income: $19.4 million, or $1.01 per share, up $3.4 million or $0.18 from the preceding quarter. - Pre-Provision Net Revenue (PPNR): Up 20% from Q2 and up 26% year-over-year. - Net Interest Income: $44.7 million, up 7% from Q2 and up 15% year-over-year. - Net Interest Margin: 2.84%, up 11 basis points from Q2 and up 44 basis points year-over-year (benefited ~2 basis points by $283,000 of recovered interest income). - Non-Interest Income: Up $1.6 million or 9% from Q2 and up 15% year-over-year. - Wealth Management Revenues: Down 1% from Q2 and up 7% year-over-year. - Mortgage Banking Revenues: $3.2 million, down 9% from Q2 and down 10% year-over-year. - Loan-Related Derivative Income: Up $924,000. - Bank-Owned Life Insurance Income: Up, largely due to a $954,000 gain recognized in the quarter. - Non-Interest Expense: $38.8 million, up $200,000 or 0.5%. - Effective Tax Rate: 20.4% for Q3; full-year 2026 rate expected at approximately 21.5%. - Total Loans: Up 1% from June 30; total commercial loans up $62 million or 2.3%, driven by CRE growth. - Deposits: Up $77 million or 1% from Q2 and up $213 million or 4% year-over-year. - Wholesale Funding: Down $80 million or 18% from June 30. - Total Equity: $531 million, down $23 million from Q2. - Dividend: Maintained at $0.56 per share. - Non-Accrual Loans: 48 basis points of total loans, down from 78 basis points. - Past Due Loans: 54 basis points of total loans, down from 81 basis points. - Provision for Credit Losses: $1.8 million recognized in Q3. - Branch Expansion: Two new branches opening in Rhode Island in the coming months. - Warning! GuruFocus has detected 9 Warning Signs with WASH. - Is WASH fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: October 20, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. - Net income rose to $19.4 million or $1.01 per share, up $3.4 million or $0.18 from the prior quarter. - Net interest income increased 7% from Q2 and 15% year-over-year, with net interest margin expanding 11 basis points to 2.84%. - Non-interest income grew 9% from Q2 and 15% year-over-year, driven by higher asset-based revenues and a $954,000 bank-owned life insurance gain. - Asset quality improved with non-accrual loans dropping to 48 basis points from 78 basis points, and past due loans falling to 54 basis points from 81 basis points, largely due to the resolution of a $22.3 million office loan. - Deposits increased $77 million or 1% from Q2 and $213 million or 4% year-over-year, while wholesale funding decreased $80 million or 18% from June 30. - Mortgage banking revenues declined 9% from Q2 and 10% year-over-year due to a decrease in the mortgage pipeline and rising market interest rates. - Non-interest expense is expected to rise by $1.5 million in Q4, plus an additional $750,000 charitable foundation contribution, impacting future profitability. - Loan growth of mid-single digits for 2026 may be difficult to achieve, requiring a very strong fourth quarter to meet annual targets. - Competitive pressures are tightening spreads on high-quality assets, with spreads in the 170s to 180s, limiting the benefit from loan repricings. - The company has no plans to buy back stock, citing high share price and a preference to deploy capital into loan growth, which may disappoint investors seeking capital returns. Q: What is the outlook for the net interest margin, especially given the September rate hike and prospects for additional hikes? A: CFO Ron Ohsberg guided Q4 NIM to a range of 285 to 290 basis points, including only the September rate hike. He noted the bank remains modestly asset sensitive, with each 25 basis point hike adding roughly one to two basis points to the run rate. Q: What is driving the strong non-interest-bearing deposit growth, and how do you think about the loan-to-deposit ratio and deposit competition going forward? A: Ohsberg attributed much of the growth to the institutional banking team onboarding operating accounts, supplemented by broad-based retail and commercial deposit gathering. He said the bank is committed to growing deposits roughly in line with loans, may rely somewhat on wholesale funding, and has no specific loan-to-deposit target, though the ratio now sits below 95%. Q: What is the expense outlook for Q4, including branch, marketing, technology, and foundation costs? A: Ohsberg said Q4 expenses should rise about $1.5 million, with some prior-quarter timing shifting into Q4, spread across new branches, marketing, technology, and personnel. The $750,000 annual charitable foundation contribution is incremental to that figure, putting Q4 expenses around $41 million. Q: Can you update us on the timing of the new Bristol and Providence-area branches and the associated run-rate expense? A: Ohsberg said the branches open around the end of the quarter, with ramp-up spending for hiring and real estate visible before opening. Ongoing run-rate cost is about $750,000 to $800,000 per branch annually, with roughly $300,000 of additional expense phasing into Q1 2027. Q: How should we think about loan growth, given prior mid-single-digit guidance and strong payoffs earlier in the year? A: Ohsberg clarified that mid-single-digit refers to run rate rather than calendar-year growth, since strong first- and second-quarter payoffs won't be fully made up in 2026. He pointed to about 5% annualized total portfolio growth and roughly 10% annualized commercial growth, with Q3 commercial growth of 2.3% within the 2% to 3% quarterly target. Q: What is the loan pipeline and mix outlook between CRE and C&I/institutional? A: CEO Ned Handy said the pipeline was about $230 million as of September 30, weighted toward C&I, with about $40 million in the institutional group. He noted Q3 growth was real estate heavy due to institutional seasonality, especially education, and expects institutional activity to pick up in Q4 and into Q1. Q: What repricing benefit do you expect from the loan book, including SOFR/Prime loans and fixed-to-floating CRE paper? A: Ohsberg noted about $2.1 billion of SOFR- and Prime-based loans resetting monthly with Fed changes. Handy said maturing CRE loans underwritten at lower rates provide some lift, but tightening spreads (around 170s to 180s for high-quality assets) and competition temper the benefit. Ohsberg added the $2 billion residential book provides a tailwind of about one to two basis points per quarter. Q: Can you provide detail on the $6 million Class A office loan newly moved to non-accrual? A: Chief Risk Officer Bill Ray said the loan has a committed sponsor that has never missed a payment, but the bank moved it to non-accrual due to potential valuation risk. The property doesn't mature until 2031, and occupancy has been level but below stabilized levels. Q: What is the status of the $6.6 million lab space loan and the $28 million lab space loan in special mention? A: Ray said the bank is working with sponsors on the $6.6 million lab space toward an exit scenario. The $28 million lab space is 95% leased, with tenants burning off free rent and performance trends positive; Ray said it is headed toward a near-term move out of special mention, pending quarter-end rent payment information. Q: With strong capital ratios, how are you thinking about share repurchases? A: Handy said there are no plans to buy back stock, citing a high share price, other investment opportunities, and a desire to hold ample capital to support expected loan growth. Ohsberg added that GAAP capital ratios remain on the lower side of the peer group and the prudent approach is to deploy capital into business growth. Q: What was the margin benefit from the terminated swap this quarter, and what is the spot margin? A: Ohsberg confirmed the expected four basis point benefit from the terminated swap was realized in the quarter. He also cited a spot margin of about 285 basis points for September. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Washington Trust Bancorp just delivered Q3 2026 earnings that looked better than the stock's recent mood suggested. The shares came into the release with a flat 7 day return and a slightly weaker 30 day stretch, then popped 4.2% to about US$38 after investors saw the numbers. What really moved sentiment was not just the US$1.02 in earnings per share. The sharper message was a cleaner credit story and a firmer net interest margin, which together raised the question of whether this single day jump fully reflects the shift in the bank's underlying risk profile. Love the cleaner credit story but wondering how many other banks pair that kind of earnings delivery with balance sheet strength? Shift your focus to our list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks (25 results). - Total Revenue (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$63.16m vs. US$49.67m (up about 27%) - Net Income, excl. extra items (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$19.38m vs. US$10.85m (up about 79%) - Basic EPS (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): US$1.02 vs. US$0.57 (up about 79%) - Net Interest Margin (Q3 2026 vs. Q3 2025): 2.84% vs. 2.40% (improved by 0.44 percentage points) Ask Charlie what Washington Trust isn't saying about new branches. The bullish pitch says Washington Trust Bancorp can turn its build out in lending, digital and branches into self funding growth rather than a margin drag. "A key factor is whether Washington Trust Bancorp can convert its recent C&I and institutional loan growth, digital banking rollout, and new branches into self-funded deposit growth without allowing office credit issues or higher noninterest expenses to materially erode profitability." Q3 shows progress on that ambition. Loans increased, deposits rose US$77m and wholesale funding fell US$80m. Net interest margin moved to 2.84% with help from a terminated swap and better pricing. Noninterest expense landed at US$38.8m, slightly below the near US$39m expectation, so cost creep is not running ahead of revenue in this quarter. The bear case argues that office exposure and heavier spending could still overwhelm those growth projects. "Noninterest expense is expected to move to just under US$39 million in Q3 2026 due to higher mortgage related compensation, branch openings, additional hiring and advertising. This could compress net margins if revenue growth from Washington Trust Bancorp's new lending and digital initiatives does not keep pace with these higher costs." Actual Q3 expense of US$38.8m and a 2.84% net interest margin suggest that squeeze did not show up yet. Asset quality also moved in the right direction as nonaccrual ratios improved after the office loan resolution, although new nonaccrual and special mention office and lab credits keep that risk very much live for future quarters. That disagreement has a full argument behind it. → Uncover the lower Fair Value this Narrative argues for. Washington Trust Bancorp just showed how quickly sentiment can reset when a balance sheet and margin story line up. The real opportunity sits in finding stocks that could be undervalued before wider attention focuses on them. - Company 1 - 49% below our estimate - uses a dense store network, app ordering and rapid menu testing to lift transaction volume. - Company 2 - 29% below our estimate - anchors itself in essential chips and software that keep data moving, secured and managed as workloads evolve. - Company 3 - 43% below our estimate - pushes its solar trackers into paired storage and inverter projects to add software-driven, higher margin revenue per installation. That is three of the list. See every one of the 34 undervalued companies on it → This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include WASH. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Washington Trust Bancorp's third quarter was characterized by margin expansion, strong net interest income, and ongoing improvements in asset quality. Management pointed to the resolution of a large commercial real estate loan and disciplined deposit gathering as key contributors to the positive results. CEO Ned Handy emphasized the bank's strong capital position and continued commitment to prudent balance sheet growth. CFO Ron Ohsberg highlighted that non-interest expenses remained well controlled, while non-interest income and loan growth supported overall profitability. Is now the time to buy WASH? Find out in our full research report (it's free). - Revenue: $65.19 million vs analyst estimates of $62.6 million (15% year-on-year growth, 4.1% beat) - Adjusted EPS: $1.01 vs analyst estimates of $0.87 (15.9% beat) - Market Capitalization: $727.2 million While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. - Damon DelMonte (KBW) inquired about the sustainability of recent margin expansion given recent rate hikes and future interest rate expectations. CFO Ron Ohsberg stated, "We remain modestly asset sensitive," and noted guidance assumes only the most recent rate hike. - Damon DelMonte (KBW) also asked about drivers of recent non-interest-bearing deposit growth. Ohsberg pointed to new institutional banking relationships and balanced growth across retail and commercial accounts as the main sources. - Damon DelMonte (KBW) questioned expense outlook and drivers behind the expected fourth quarter increase. Ohsberg attributed this to timing effects and targeted investments in new branches, marketing, technology, and personnel. - Justin Crowley (Piper Sandler) sought clarification on loan repricing dynamics and the impact of fixed-to-floating commercial real estate loans maturing. CEO Ned Handy and Ohsberg explained that while some lift is possible, tightening spreads and competition are limiting benefits. - Laurie Hunsicker (Seaport) pressed for more detail on credit quality developments, particularly around recently resolved and remaining non-performing loans. Chief Risk Officer Bill Wray emphasized improvements, with certain properties moving toward reclassification as performance stabilizes. Looking ahead, the StockStory team will be closely monitoring (1) the ramp-up and customer response to the new branch openings, (2) the ability to sustain strong deposit growth without significant increases in funding costs, and (3) ongoing credit quality improvement, particularly regarding the resolution of special mention and non-performing commercial real estate loans. The competitive dynamics in local deposit markets and execution of technology investment will also be important indicators. Washington Trust Bancorp currently trades at $38.17, up from $36.64 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it's free for active Edge members). WHILE YOU'RE HERE: Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. The best stocks don't just beat the market once. They do it again. And again. Robust revenue growth, rising free cash flow, returns on capital that leave their competition in the dust. The market has already rewarded these businesses. But our AI platform says the party isn't over. Find out which 9 stocks made the cut this week — FREE. Get Our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Tue, Oct 20, 2026 - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Ned Handy - President and Chief Operating Officer - Mary Noons - Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer - Ron Ohsberg - Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer - Bill Wray - Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications - Sharon Walsh Operator: Good morning, and welcome to Washington Trust Bancorp Inc.'s Q3 2026 Conference Call. My name is Hillary, and I'll be your operator today. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I'll now turn the call over to Sharon Walsh, Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications. Sharon, please go ahead. Sharon Walsh: Thank you, Hillary. Good morning and welcome to Washington Trust Bancorp Inc.'s Conference Call for the Third Quarter of 2026. Joining us this morning are members of Washington Trust's executive team, Ned Handy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mary Noons, President and Chief Operating Officer, Ron Ohsberg, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and Bill Wray, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. Please note that today's presentation may contain forward-looking statements, and our actual results could differ materially from what is discussed on today's call. Our complete safe harbor statement is contained in our earnings release, which was issued yesterday, as well as other documents that are filed with the SEC. All of these materials and other public filings are available on our investor relations website at ir.washtrust.com. Washington Trust trades on Nasdaq under the symbol WASH. I'm now pleased to introduce you to today's host, Washington Trust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ned Handy. Ned? Ned Handy: Thank you, Sharon. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our third quarter conference call. We continue to appreciate your time and your interest in Washington Trust. I'll begin with a few comments about the quarter, and then Ron will provide more detail on our financial performance. Following our remarks, Mary and Bill will join us for the question and answer session. We delivered another strong quarter marked by growth and earnings and net interest income, continued margin expansion, and improved operating efficiency. Our asset quality metrics improved, reflecting the resolution of a commercial real estate office loan. Our capital position remains strong and supports prudent growth. We're continuing to expand our presence in Rhode Island with two new branches opening in the coming months. These locations will provide the trusted advice, comprehensive solutions, convenience, and personalized service that our customers deserve. We look forward to building long-term financial partnerships with individuals, families, and businesses in these markets. Now I'll turn the call over to Ron to provide additional details on our third quarter financial results. Ron? Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. Thanks, Ned, and good morning, everyone. Third quarter net income was $19.4 million or $1.01 per share, up by $3.4 million or $0.18 from the preceding quarter. Pre-provision pre-tax net revenue or PPNR was up 20% from Q2 and up by 26% year-over-year. Net interest income was $44.7 million, up by 7% from Q2 and up by 15% year-over-year. The margin was 284, up by 11 basis points from Q2 and up by 44 basis points year-over-year. The third quarter included $283,000 of second quarter interest income from a loan that was returned to accrual during the quarter, and this benefited NIM by about 2 basis points. Non-interest income was up by $1.6 million or 9% compared to Q2 and up by 15% year-over-year. Wealth management revenues were down by 1% compared to Q2 and up by 7% year-over-year. In the third quarter, an increase in asset-based revenues were offset by a decline in tax servicing fee, a seasonal decline in tax servicing fee income. Mortgage banking revenues totaled $3.2 million, down by 9% from the second quarter and down by 10% year-over-year, reflecting a decrease in the mortgage pipeline as well as rising market interest rates. Loan-related derivative income was up by $924,000, and income from bank-owned life insurance was up largely due to the recognition of a gain of $954,000 in the third quarter. Non-interest expense totaled $38.8 million in the third quarter, up by $200,000 or 0.5%. Our third quarter effective tax rate was 20.4%, and we expect our full year 2026 rate to be approximately 21.5%. Turning to the balance sheet, total loans were up by 1% from June 30. Total commercial loans increased by $62 million or 2.3%, driven by growth in the CRE portfolio. Deposits were up by $77 million or 1% from the end of the second quarter and up by $213 million or 4% year-over-year. Wholesale funding was down by $80 million or 18% from the end of June. Total equity amounted to $531 million, down by $23 million from the end of the second quarter. In the third quarter, net income was offset by a decline in the fair value of available for sale debt securities as well as the quarterly dividend. The dividend remains at $0.56 per share. Turning to asset and credit quality. Overall, our asset and credit quality metrics improved. At September 30, non-accrual loans were 48 basis points on total loans, decreasing from 78 basis points, and past due loans were 54 basis points on total loans, down from 81 basis points at the end of the second quarter. The improvement was largely driven by the resolution of an office loan of $22.3 million that was placed on non-accrual in the first quarter. During the third quarter, this loan was restructured, resulting in $18.5 million being returned to accrual and $3.8 million being charged off. In the third quarter, we recognized $1.8 million provision for credit losses. At this time, I will turn the call back over to Ned. Ned Handy: Thanks, Ron, and we'll move to question and answers. Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you're muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Justin Crowley from Piper Sandler. Your line is open. Please go ahead. A reminder to unmute yourself locally if you would like to ask the question on your device. I will move to the next question. Please rejoin the queue if you are looking to ask a question. Your next call comes from the line of Damon DelMonte from KBW. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Damon DelMonte: Hey, good morning, guys. Hope everybody's doing well today, and thanks for taking my questions. Ned Handy: Good morning. Damon DelMonte: Morning, guys. Just wanted to start on the outlook for the margin. You've had a string of consecutive quarters of nice margin expansion. Just curious, Ron, to get your thoughts on how you see it playing out over the back half of this year and as we go into 2027, especially with the rate hike that we had in September and the prospects of additional hikes over the coming quarters as well. Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. Damon, it's probably a little early to be talking about 2027, but we've revised our guidance for Q4. We're going to guide to a range of 285-290. Damon DelMonte: Okay, great. Ron Ohsberg: Yeah, I would say that we remain modestly asset sensitive, so that guidance includes just the September rate hike at this point. We think that each 25 basis point hike probably gives us 1-2 basis points on the run rate. Damon DelMonte: 2 basis points on the run rate. Okay, great. Kind of along those lines, the non-interest-bearing deposit growth has been really strong the last couple of quarters. Just any color on what's driving that? Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. I think a good part of it is the institutional banking team onboarding operating accounts related to the relationships that they're bringing in is probably the biggest driver. I think we have kind of an across-the-board approach to taking in deposits across both retail and commercial at this point. Yeah, we had pretty good growth in the quarter, and we'll see if we can maintain that. Damon DelMonte: Got it. Okay. Just one more for me. On the expense outlook, good quarter this quarter, pretty much flat. Just curious on your outlook for the fourth quarter and kind of any puts and takes around that. Thanks. Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. On the last call, we guided to a million-dollar increase in the quarter, and we came in below that. I would say a lot of that is timing related. We are going to see a shift to some of that previously expected expense growth shifting into the fourth quarter. For the fourth quarter, we are looking at an increase of about $1.5 million. We are making some targeted investments in a few areas, including some new branches that are coming online, some marketing spend, some technology spend, some personnel spend. That $1.5 million is kind of evenly distributed across that. None of that includes our annual $750,000 contribution to our charitable foundation. That would be incremental to the $1.5 million. Damon DelMonte: Got it. Okay, great. Okay, that is all that I had for now. I will step back. Thank you. Ned Handy: Thanks, Damon. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Justin Crowley from Piper Sandler. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Justin Crowley: Hey, good morning. Hopefully, you can hear me now. Ned Handy: We can, Justin. Good morning. Justin Crowley: Perfect. Thank you. Ron, just going back to the margin, if I remember correctly, I believe you were going to get another 4 basis points benefit from the terminated swap this quarter. I just wanted to confirm that was the case. Ron Ohsberg: Yes, it is. Justin Crowley: Okay. Do you have detail on what loan repricings look like if we go out to the end of 2027? What that looks like from a volume and then just rate pickup standpoint? Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. We've got, call it about $2.1 billion of SOFR and prime-based loans. Those SOFR loans are resetting monthly. That's kind of the repricing that we see immediately every time the Fed makes a change. Justin Crowley: Okay. But for the fixed to floating or any of the five-year CRE paper, do you get any benefit there, just kind of given some of the growth you put on back in 2022? Ron Ohsberg: I'm sorry. Say that again, Justin. Justin Crowley: Just for the five-year fixed to floating type commercial real estate paper. If I just look back to growth you put on five years ago, I would think there's some benefit there as we get into next year, although perhaps not. Ned Handy: Justin, it's Ned. I would say that CRE loans that are maturing that were underwritten at much lower rates are obviously, to the extent that they do extend and don't pay off, we still see a fair amount of those paying off even before maturity. But I'd say we get a little bit of a lift, obviously, from the lows. I will tell you, though, that what we're seeing in the market in general is spreads are tightening as rates rise. They tend to, especially in high-quality assets. So we're seeing spreads in the, I don't know, 170s, 180s for high-quality assets. So, that bites into that benefit a little bit. And obviously, there's a lot of competition for quality assets. So it's a mix. I think we're getting a little bit of a lift off of the lows, but I think in general, the market's very competitive and spreads are getting a little thinner. Ron Ohsberg: Justin, I can add to that. Really, there's more of a tangible benefit, I think, on the residential side. We've got a $2 billion residential book. So as that's amortizing and we're reinvesting those cash flows, that's giving us a tailwind of about 1-2 basis points a quarter. Justin Crowley: Okay. Got it. That's helpful. Just on loan growth, I think you guys have talked about mid-single digits previously. It seems like that might be tough to get to just barring a really strong fourth quarter. Just kind of curious how you're thinking about that trend line from here. Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. Listen, I would say when we think about mid-single digits, we're really talking about run rate versus calendar year. We had strong payoffs in the first and second quarter. We're not going to make that up inside of 2026. But I think our loan growth in the second quarter and in the third quarter was pretty strong, and we're looking at annualized total portfolio growth of 5%, and we're looking at within the commercial book about 10%. So this quarter, the commercial book delivered 2.3%. That's kind of within our target range of 2%-3% quarterly commercial growth, which over the year, we're looking at that averaging out to about 10% annualized growth. Justin Crowley: Okay. Got it. Then maybe just one last one as a follow-up to that a little. Just any thought on the mix as we go forward? You saw CRE come back after the slower first half with some of the payoffs you alluded to, and then the softer period on the C&I or institutional group. So just kind of curious how you're thinking about both of those areas. Ned Handy: Yeah. That's a good question. I think as we guided the growth in Q3 would be sort of real estate heavy given the seasonality of the institutional, especially in the education space, the institutional business. But the pipeline going forward, we've got about a $230 million pipeline as of 9/30, which is weighted towards C&I with about $40 million of that today in the institutional group. We did do a $10 million New England school deal in the third quarter. So there was a little bit of institutional, but I think it kind of followed as we predicted that it would slow down a little bit in Q3 and pick up Q4 and into Q1. But pipeline's pretty strong. Again, weighted towards commercial. Justin Crowley: Perfect. I will leave it there. Thanks so much. Ned Handy: Thanks very much, Justin. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Laurie Hunsicker, who is a private investor. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Laurie Hunsicker: Yeah. Hi, Ned and Ron. Good morning. Laurie Hunsicker from Seaport. Ned Handy: Hi, Laurie. Laurie Hunsicker: Hi. I just wanted to circle back here on expenses. I just want to make sure that I'm getting this right. So round numbers, you're going to be about $41 million or so for the fourth quarter, including the charitable foundation of $750? Ron Ohsberg: Yes. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. That is including the branch spend, the Bristol and the Pawtucket. Can you update us on exactly when those are opening? Just help us think about is that fourth quarter then a fully baked run rate? How should we be thinking about that? Ron Ohsberg: No. Laurie, I don't have the exact timing, but right around the end of the quarter. There is some ramp-up spending that occurs. We have to hire the people. We've got some real estate costs. Some of that expense is you will see it in our run rate even before the branch is opened. But the ongoing run rate for a branch is around $750,000-$800,000 a year. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Just in terms of one quarter expense modeling, just thinking about maybe another $400,000 add for those branches to be fully phased. Or maybe it's a little less, maybe it's 150 branch or maybe $300,000 additional of expense into the first quarter of 2027. Ron Ohsberg: I think that's fair. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Do you have any branches planned now for 2027? Ron Ohsberg: We have nothing planned, although I would say that we are still interested in expanding the branch footprint. Nothing to talk about yet, but in coming quarters, we'll probably have something to talk about there. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Great. Yeah, loved seeing your deposit growth and just very. You held the line almost across the board on raising rates there. So your loan-to-deposit ratio now sitting below 95%, which is great. Can you help us think about what that target looks like into next year? And then maybe, Ned, just very high level, can you talk about the competitive pressures you're seeing on deposit costs in order to grow those buckets? Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. So yeah, we're very pleased with our loan-to-deposit ratio, which is at a low level that we've rarely been at in the past. As you know, Laurie, we've been quite a bit higher than that previously. We're committed to maintaining our deposit growth in the neighborhood of where our loan growth is. Our loan growth will be higher in the coming couple of years than it has been in the previous couple of years. So, we will have our work cut out for us to keep that deposit growth going and making sure that we can fund those loans. We've got internal policy limits and things of that nature, but I don't have a target loan-to-deposit ratio to share with you. I will say that we would rely on wholesale funding to some degree to fund appropriate loan growth when we get to that point. I don't know. That's about the best I can tell you. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Do you have a spot margin? Ron Ohsberg: Yeah. Call it 285 for September. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay, great. I just had a couple questions on credit. Loved, obviously, seeing the $22 million resolution. The $6 million Class A that was new into non-performers. I guess, what is that loan? What's the occupancy? What's maybe your thoughts on timing of resolution there? Bill Wray: Hey, Laurie, this is Bill Wray. Laurie Hunsicker: Hey, Bill. Bill Wray: That's been there for a while. Committed sponsors. Never missed a payment. We just felt it was the appropriate time to look at potential valuation risk. The property doesn't mature until 2031. So occupancy has been level, but it's not at stabilized levels. We felt that was just the right step to take at this point. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Last quarter it was performing, and then you moved it to non-performer. I'm just wondering what triggered that? Bill Wray: Just thinking about valuation risk, I think. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Bill Wray: We felt it was the right time. Again, there's been no change in commitment from the sponsors, no change in occupancy up or down. As you said, they've never missed a payment. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay, great. Just wondered on the $6.6 million lab space. Any update on that? I know that was in sort of initial lease-up phase, I think last time we were chatting. Any color to add there? Bill Wray: We are working with the sponsors on that and moving towards an exit scenario. We are in the middle of those discussions. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay. Last one for me. The $28 million lab space that is unclassified. I think there was a thought that potentially could be returning here. That it could certainly be migrating out of special mention here in the next couple of quarters. I have in my notes that property- Bill Wray: Sure Laurie Hunsicker: was fully leased. Can you just update us on when we might see movement in that? Bill Wray: It's fully leased at 95%. We've been waiting for the tenants to burn off free rent and show performance. All trends have been positive, so we're feeling reasonably good about a near-term move out of special mention. But until we have all the quarter-end information in terms of rent payments, we can't commit to that yet. But that's where it's headed, we think. Laurie Hunsicker: Okay, great. One very last question, Ned, for you. Obviously, your capital ratios are very, very strong here. Can you just refresh us on revisiting the buyback and how you're thinking about that? Thanks. Ned Handy: Yeah. We don't have any plans to buy stock back at this point. The price is high. We've got the capital. We've got other things to invest in. We want to make sure we have ample capital to support the growth we're looking forward to on the loan side. So I think we'll kind of keep our position of holding off on repurchases at the moment. Ron, I don't know if you have other- Ron Ohsberg: No, that's it. We've got plans to grow the balance sheet, so we're going to hold onto that capital right now. Laurie, listen, our regulatory capital ratios look fine. Our GAAP capital ratios remain on the lighter side of the peer group. We recognize that. We've recognized that for a while. So I think the prudent thing for us to do right now is to deploy that capital into the growth of the business. Laurie Hunsicker: Great. Thanks for taking my question. Ned Handy: Thanks, Laurie. Operator: There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Ned Handy, Chairman and CEO, for closing remarks. Ned Handy: Well, thank you, everybody. Again, we appreciate your time and your interest in Washington Trust, and very much look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. Have a great day, everybody. Operator: This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Washington Trust Bancorp, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Washington Trust Bancorp wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $376,696!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,333,920!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 925% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 212% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Washington Trust (WASH) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

- Interested in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. - Third-quarter earnings improved significantly: Net income rose to $19.4 million, or $1.01 per share, while net interest income increased 15% year over year to $44.7 million. Net interest margin expanded to 2.84%, with management guiding to 2.85%–2.90% in the fourth quarter. - Balance-sheet growth remained solid: Loans grew 1% sequentially, commercial loans increased 2.3%, and deposits rose 4% year over year. Management maintained a mid-single-digit loan-growth outlook, supported by a $230 million commercial-heavy pipeline. - Credit quality improved after an office-loan restructuring: Nonaccrual loans declined to 48 basis points of total loans after an $18.5 million portion of a restructured $22.3 million office loan returned to accrual status, though several commercial real estate exposures remain under monitoring. Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) reported higher third-quarter earnings, net interest income and net interest margin, while credit-quality measures improved following the restructuring of a commercial real estate office loan. Third-quarter net income totaled $19.4 million, or $1.01 per share, up $3.4 million, or $0.18 per share, from the preceding quarter, according to Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Ron Ohsberg. Pre-provision, pre-tax net revenue increased 20% from the second quarter and 26% from a year earlier. → Berkshire Just Backed This Little-Known Stock—Should You Chase It? Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ned Handy said the company delivered "another strong quarter" marked by earnings and net interest income growth, margin expansion and improved operating efficiency. He also said Washington Trust plans to open two new Rhode Island branches in the coming months. Net interest income rose 7% sequentially and 15% year over year to $44.7 million. Net interest margin was 2.84%, up 11 basis points from the second quarter and 44 basis points from a year earlier. The quarter included $283,000 in second-quarter interest income from a loan returned to accrual status, adding about 2 basis points to net interest margin. → These 3 Green Stocks Have a Growth Story That Goes Far Beyond Washington For the fourth quarter, Ohsberg guided to a net interest margin range of 2.85% to 2.90%. He said Washington Trust remains modestly asset-sensitive and that each additional 25-basis-point interest-rate increase could add roughly 1 to 2 basis points to the run-rate margin. The outlook at the time incorporated the September rate hike. Ohsberg said the company has about $2.1 billion of loans tied to SOFR and prime rates, with SOFR loans resetting monthly. He also said the company's approximately $2 billion residential portfolio provides a margin tailwind as loans amortize and cash flows are reinvested, contributing an estimated 1 to 2 basis points per quarter. → Broadcom's CEO Sees Years of AI Demand But Warns of a Bigger Threat to the Boom Total loans increased 1% from June 30. Commercial loans rose $62 million, or 2.3%, led by growth in commercial real estate lending. Deposits increased $77 million, or 1%, during the quarter and were up $213 million, or 4%, from a year earlier. Wholesale funding declined $80 million, or 18%, from the end of the second quarter. Ohsberg attributed growth in noninterest-bearing deposits partly to operating accounts being brought in by the institutional banking team. He said Washington Trust is pursuing deposit growth across retail and commercial channels and intends to keep deposit growth broadly aligned with loan growth. Management said its mid-single-digit loan-growth outlook is based on run-rate growth rather than calendar-year growth, following strong loan payoffs in the first and second quarters. Ohsberg said total portfolio growth was running at an annualized rate of about 5%, while commercial lending was running at about 10% annualized. The company's commercial loan portfolio grew 2.3% in the third quarter, within management's target range of 2% to 3% quarterly commercial growth. Handy said the pipeline totaled about $230 million as of Sept. 30 and was weighted toward commercial and industrial lending, including about $40 million in institutional banking opportunities. Handy said the third-quarter loan mix was more heavily weighted toward real estate lending, in part because of seasonality in institutional banking, particularly education-related business. He said institutional activity is expected to pick up in the fourth quarter and first quarter. On commercial real estate repricing, Handy said loans originated at lower rates may provide some lift as they mature or extend. However, he said competitive conditions for high-quality assets have caused lending spreads to tighten, partly offsetting the benefit of higher rates. Noninterest income increased $1.6 million, or 9%, from the second quarter and 15% from a year earlier. Wealth management revenue declined 1% sequentially but rose 7% year over year, as higher asset-based revenue was offset by a seasonal decrease in tax servicing fee income. Mortgage banking revenue totaled $3.2 million, down 9% from the prior quarter and 10% from a year earlier, reflecting a lower mortgage pipeline and higher market interest rates. Loan-related derivative income increased $924,000, while bank-owned life insurance income benefited from recognition of a $954,000 gain. Noninterest expense totaled $38.8 million, rising $200,000, or 0.5%, from the prior quarter. For the fourth quarter, Ohsberg said the company expects expenses to increase by about $1.5 million, excluding an annual $750,000 contribution to its charitable foundation. The projected expense increase includes targeted investments in new branches, marketing, technology and personnel. The two Rhode Island branches, in Bristol and Pawtucket, were expected to open around the end of the quarter. Ohsberg said a branch's ongoing annual run rate is approximately $750,000 to $800,000, though some spending occurs before opening. Asset-quality metrics improved during the quarter. Nonaccrual loans declined to 48 basis points of total loans at Sept. 30 from 78 basis points at the end of the second quarter, while past-due loans fell to 54 basis points from 81 basis points. The improvement was driven largely by the resolution of a $22.3 million office loan placed on nonaccrual status in the first quarter. The loan was restructured during the third quarter, with $18.5 million returned to accrual status and $3.8 million charged off. Washington Trust recorded a $1.8 million provision for credit losses in the quarter. Chief Risk Officer Bill Wray also discussed a $6 million Class A property loan that was moved to nonperforming status because of potential valuation risk. He said the property's occupancy had remained level, its sponsors remained committed, and the borrower had not missed a payment. The loan does not mature until 2031. Wray said a separate $28 million lab-space loan was 95% leased and could move out of special mention in the near term if tenants continue to perform after free-rent periods expire. He said Washington Trust was also working with sponsors on an exit scenario for a $6.6 million lab-space loan. Total equity was $531 million at quarter-end, down $23 million from the prior quarter as net income was offset by lower fair values on available-for-sale debt securities and the quarterly dividend. The dividend remained $0.56 per share. Management said it has no current plan to repurchase shares, preferring to retain capital to support balance-sheet growth and investments in the business. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc is the holding company for The Washington Trust Company, a community bank headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is one of the oldest continuously operating banks in the United States and serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions. The bank provides a range of financial services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, business banking and cash-management services. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Washington Trust Bancorp Q3 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for October 2026.

Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.01 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.87 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.56 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +16.09%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this holding company for The Washington Trust Co. would post earnings of $0.76 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.83, delivering a surprise of +9.21%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Washington Trust, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry, posted revenues of $64.96 million for the quarter ended September 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.83%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $56.47 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Washington Trust shares have added about 25.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 11.9%. While Washington Trust has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Washington Trust was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.85 on $62.88 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $3.23 on $243.13 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks - Northeast is currently in the top 27% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, Orrstown Financial Services (ORRF), is yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026. The results are expected to be released on October 20. This holding company for Orrstown Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.10 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -2.7%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.2% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. Orrstown Financial Services' revenues are expected to be $66 million, up 2.5% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (WASH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Orrstown Financial Services Inc (ORRF) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Regional bank Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) will be announcing earnings results this Monday after market hours. Here's what you need to know. Washington Trust Bancorp beat analysts' revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $60.65 million, up 11.3% year on year. It was a satisfactory quarter for the company, with a beat of analysts' EPS estimates but net interest income in line with analysts' estimates. Is Washington Trust Bancorp a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Washington Trust Bancorp's revenue to grow 10.4% year on year, slowing from the 16.2% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Washington Trust Bancorp has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Washington Trust Bancorp's peers in the regional banks segment, some have already reported their Q3 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Independent Bank delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 7.4%, beating analysts' expectations by 0.6%, and Regions Financial reported revenues up 2.6%, topping estimates by 0.6%. Independent Bank traded up 3.6% following the results. Read our full analysis of Independent Bank's results here and Regions Financial's results here. In the last year or so, investors have shifted their focus from one macro dynamic to the next (AI disintermediation and AI investment to geopolitical conflict, interest rates, and the health of the wider economy). While some of the regional banks stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 5.1% on average over the last month. Washington Trust Bancorp is down 5.7% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $37.67 (compared to the current share price of $37.06). ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Nvidia's Quiet Partner. Nvidia's chips cost a hundred grand. The connectors that make them work cost even more. One company makes them all. Every AI server needs specialized infrastructure the chip companies don't make. High-speed cables. Power connectors. Thermal sensors. This 90-year-old company built a monopoly on it. The AI boom just started. This stock is still flying under the radar. Claim The Stock Ticker Here for FREE.

The upcoming report from Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share, indicating an increase of 55.4% compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $61.97 million, representing an increase of 9.7% year over year. The current level reflects no revision in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter over the past 30 days. This demonstrates how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reappraised their initial projections over this period. Prior to a company's earnings release, it is of utmost importance to factor in any revisions made to the earnings projections. These revisions serve as a critical gauge for predicting potential investor behaviors with respect to the stock. Empirical studies consistently reveal a strong link between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock. While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding. In light of this perspective, let's dive into the average estimates of certain Washington Trust metrics that are commonly tracked and forecasted by Wall Street analysts. Analysts forecast 'Efficiency Ratio' to reach 63.6%. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 63.3% in the same quarter of the previous year. Analysts predict that the 'Total noninterest income' will reach $18.73 million. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $17.64 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 'Net Interest Income' to come in at $43.24 million. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $38.83 million in the same quarter of the previous year. View all Key Company Metrics for Washington Trust here>>> Shares of Washington Trust have demonstrated returns of -7.6% over the past month compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.1% change. With a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), WASH is expected to beat the overall market performance in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> . Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (WASH) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research