Park National (NYSE:PRK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 49,624 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the previous session’s volume of 58,094 shares.The stock last traded at $165.86 and had previously closed at $162.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Park National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Park National from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Park National in a report on Thursday, February 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.50 price objective on the stock.

Park National Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.97 and a 200-day moving average of $164.72.

Park National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.94%.

Institutional Trading of Park National

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Park National by 427.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,054,000 after purchasing an additional 52,268 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Park National during the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Park National during the fourth quarter worth $244,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Park National by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,348,000 after buying an additional 3,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Park National by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,701,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,703,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the last quarter. 62.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.