Park National (NYSE:PRK) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Park National (NYSE:PRK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PRK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Park National from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Park National from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.50.

Park National Price Performance

Shares of Park National stock opened at $176.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.78. Park National has a twelve month low of $137.97 and a twelve month high of $179.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Park National Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.57%.

Institutional Trading of Park National

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Park National by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 673,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,674,000 after purchasing an additional 51,381 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Park National by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 347,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,139,000 after buying an additional 6,372 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Park National by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,777 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Park National by 12.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,066,000 after acquiring an additional 6,074 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Park National by 9.0% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 54,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,838,000 after acquiring an additional 4,467 shares during the last quarter. 62.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.