Park National (NYSE:PRK) Earns Market Perform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Park National (NYSE:PRK) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $125.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Park National from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Park National in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a neutral rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock.

Park National Stock Performance

NYSE PRK opened at $134.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 0.70. Park National has a 1-year low of $90.28 and a 1-year high of $137.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.13.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $121.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.29 million. Park National had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 22.03%. Equities analysts predict that Park National will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Park National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Park National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRK. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Park National by 621.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 33,175 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Park National by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,701,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,009,000 after purchasing an additional 12,925 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Park National during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,087,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Park National by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 457,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,818,000 after purchasing an additional 10,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Park National by 6,882.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 9,429 shares during the last quarter. 62.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.