Park National (NYSE:PRK) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Park National (NYSE:PRK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Park National in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Park National Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:PRK opened at $164.66 on Thursday. Park National has a 1 year low of $91.78 and a 1 year high of $190.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $154.06 and a 200-day moving average of $139.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84 and a beta of 0.71.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $126.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.52 million. Park National had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 12.49%.

Park National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Park National’s payout ratio is 53.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Park National news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of Park National stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.66, for a total transaction of $98,640.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,470.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Park National news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of Park National stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.66, for a total transaction of $98,640.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,470.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.06, for a total value of $84,925.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 925 shares in the company, valued at $173,030.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Park National

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Park National by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Park National by 1.4% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Park National by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Park National by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Park National during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Park National Company Profile

Park National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Park National Bank that provides commercial banking and trust services in small and medium population areas. The company offers deposits for demand, savings, and time accounts; trust and wealth management services; cash management services; safe deposit operations; electronic funds transfers; Internet and mobile banking solutions with bill pay service; credit cards; and various additional banking-related services.