Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) Competitors

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) and Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, community ranking, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in WASH or SBCF?

65.8% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.8% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Washington Trust Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, WASH or SBCF?

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has higher revenue and earnings than Washington Trust Bancorp. Washington Trust Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida, 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	$403.73M	1.50	-$28.06M	-$1.55	-20.32
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	$808.99M	2.98	$120.99M	$1.43	19.70

Does the media favor WASH or SBCF?

In the previous week, Washington Trust Bancorp and Washington Trust Bancorp both had 1 articles in the media. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida's average media sentiment score of 1.00 beat Washington Trust Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Washington Trust Bancorp	Neutral
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer WASH or SBCF?

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida received 113 more outperform votes than Washington Trust Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 59.76% of users gave Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida an outperform vote while only 52.23% of users gave Washington Trust Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Washington Trust Bancorp	Outperform Votes 187 52.23%	Underperform Votes 171 47.77%
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	Outperform Votes 300 59.76%	Underperform Votes 202 40.24%

Is WASH or SBCF a better dividend stock?

Washington Trust Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Washington Trust Bancorp pays out -144.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida pays out 50.3% 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. Washington Trust Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility & risk, WASH or SBCF?

Washington Trust Bancorp has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer WASH or SBCF?

Washington Trust Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.94%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a consensus price target of $29.40, suggesting a potential upside of 4.37%. Given Washington Trust Bancorp's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Washington Trust Bancorp is more favorable than Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida.

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)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Is WASH or SBCF more profitable?

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a net margin of 14.95% compared to Washington Trust Bancorp's net margin of -6.90%. Washington Trust Bancorp's return on equity of 8.99% beat Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Washington Trust Bancorp	-6.90%	8.99%	0.60%
Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida	14.95%	5.91%	0.85%

Summary

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida beats Washington Trust Bancorp on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.