Washington Trust cut to Underweight at Piper after ‘sizeable earnings miss’

As previously reported, Piper Sandler downgraded Washington Trust to Underweight from Neutral with a price target of $27, down from $40, after Washington Trust reported Q1 EPS of 74c. After backing out a nonrecurring BOLI death benefit, the firm estimates core EPS at 72c, which "represented a hefty miss" to the firm’s estimate and the Street consensus of 90c. Given the "sizeable earnings miss," the firm would expect the stock to be weaker today, the analyst tells investors.