Park National (NYSE:PRK) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 74,994 shares were traded during mid-day 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

PRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Park National from $189.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Park National in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Park National from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.00.

Park National Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization 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 200 day simple moving average of $177.45.

Park National Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Park National

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRK. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Park National by 21,909.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,337,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322,573 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Park National in the second quarter worth $473,814,000. Park National Corp OH lifted its stake in shares of Park National by 9.8% during the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 1,155,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,942,000 after buying an additional 103,142 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Park National by 8.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 673,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,674,000 after buying an additional 51,381 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Park National by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 517,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,570,000 after buying an additional 5,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.