Park National (NYSE:PRK) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Park National (NYSE:PRK) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Park National in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company.

Park National Price Performance

Shares of PRK opened at $135.31 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.68. Park National has a 52-week low of $90.28 and a 52-week high of $137.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.70.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.09. Park National had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 22.03%. The business had revenue of $140.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.14 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Park National will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Park National

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Park National by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 48,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Park National by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 156,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,821,000 after acquiring an additional 7,655 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Park National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $803,000. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Park National by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Park National by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.