Park National (NYSE:PRK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . 74,994 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 90,713 shares.The stock last traded at $196.5380 and had previously closed at $199.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PRK. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Park National in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Park National from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Park National from $189.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.00.

Park National Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Park National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.39%.

Institutional Trading of Park National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Park National during the 2nd quarter worth $473,814,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Park National by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 517,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,570,000 after purchasing an additional 5,859 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Park National by 14.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,763,000 after purchasing an additional 9,865 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Park National by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in Park National by 9.8% in the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,155,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,942,000 after purchasing an additional 103,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

About Park National

Park National Corporation is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary, The Park National Bank, provides a full suite of commercial and personal banking services. The company’s main business activities include deposit-taking, commercial and industrial lending, mortgage originations and trust and wealth management services. Park National aims to serve the financial needs of businesses, professionals, families and nonprofit organizations across its regional footprint.

Through its subsidiary banks, Park National offers traditional deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside loan products including commercial real estate loans, agricultural lending, equipment financing and consumer installment loans.