As you might know, Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) just kicked off its latest quarterly results with some very strong numbers. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 6.0% to hit US$49m. Washington Trust Bancorp also reported a statutory profit of US$0.64, which was an impressive 41% above what the analysts had forecast. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, Washington Trust Bancorp's four analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be US$191.0m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to descend 19% to US$2.19 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$190.4m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.06 in 2024. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Washington Trust Bancorp's earnings potential following these results.

The consensus price target fell 5.8% to US$27.00, suggesting the increase in earnings forecasts was not enough to offset other the analysts concerns. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. The most optimistic Washington Trust Bancorp analyst has a price target of US$28.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$26.00. The narrow spread of estimates could suggest that the business' future is relatively easy to value, or thatthe analysts have a strong view on its prospects.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's clear from the latest estimates that Washington Trust Bancorp's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 1.8% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 0.8% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see revenue growth of 5.9% annually. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, Washington Trust Bancorp is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Washington Trust Bancorp following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Washington Trust Bancorp's future valuation.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Washington Trust Bancorp going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Washington Trust Bancorp .

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