Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) Competitors

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) and First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, community ranking, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Is WASH or FRME more profitable?

First Merchants has a net margin of 18.76% compared to Washington Trust Bancorp's net margin of -6.90%. First Merchants' return on equity of 9.23% beat Washington Trust Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Washington Trust Bancorp	-6.90%	8.99%	0.60%
First Merchants	18.76%	9.23%	1.12%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in WASH or FRME?

First Merchants received 174 more outperform votes than Washington Trust Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.26% of users gave First Merchants an outperform vote while only 52.63% of users gave Washington Trust Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Washington Trust Bancorp	Outperform Votes 190 52.63%	Underperform Votes 171 47.37%
First Merchants	Outperform Votes 364 60.26%	Underperform Votes 240 39.74%

Do analysts rate WASH or FRME?

Washington Trust Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.95%. First Merchants has a consensus target price of $48.20, suggesting a potential upside of 35.66%. Given First Merchants' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Merchants is more favorable than Washington Trust Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Washington Trust Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
First Merchants	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Is WASH or FRME a better dividend stock?

Washington Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.2%. First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Washington Trust Bancorp pays out -144.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Merchants pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. First Merchants has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Washington Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, WASH or FRME?

First Merchants has higher revenue and earnings than Washington Trust Bancorp. Washington Trust Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Merchants, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Washington Trust Bancorp	$98.55M	5.32	-$28.06M	-$1.55	-17.55
First Merchants	$626.71M	3.32	$201.40M	$3.42	10.39

Does the media refer more to WASH or FRME?

In the previous week, Washington Trust Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than First Merchants. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Washington Trust Bancorp and 6 mentions for First Merchants. Washington Trust Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat First Merchants' score of 0.71 indicating that Washington Trust Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Washington Trust Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Merchants	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, WASH or FRME?

Washington Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Merchants has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of WASH or FRME?

65.8% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of First Merchants shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Merchants beats Washington Trust Bancorp on 15 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.