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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Park National (NYSE:PRK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler started coverage on Park National in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a neutral rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock.

Park National Stock Performance

NYSE:PRK opened at $134.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $130.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Park National has a 12 month low of $90.28 and a 12 month high of $137.52.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $140.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.14 million. Park National had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 22.03%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Park National will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Park National Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Park National’s payout ratio is 53.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Park National

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Park National by 0.8% during the fourth 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 457,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,818,000 after buying an additional 10,266 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,727,000 after buying an additional 6,724 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 55,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,412,000 after buying an additional 17,271 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 5.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 54,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,124,000 after buying an additional 2,579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

About Park National

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.