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

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

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PRK. StockNews.com raised shares of Park National from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Park National in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a neutral rating and a $130.00 price target for the company.

Park National Stock Performance

NYSE PRK opened at $134.33 on Wednesday. Park National has a 52-week low of $90.28 and a 52-week high of $137.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.10 and a 200-day moving average of $123.32.

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

Park National Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Park National’s payout ratio is 53.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Park National

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRK. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Park National in the third quarter valued at about $888,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Park National by 6.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Park National by 7.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 9,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Park National by 6.3% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 5,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Park National by 621.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,641,000 after acquiring an additional 33,175 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.