Park National (NYSE:PRK) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $128.01, but opened at $131.88. Park National shares last traded at $131.27, with a volume of 9,074 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Park National’s payout ratio is currently 53.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRK. StockNews.com upgraded Park National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler began coverage on Park National in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company.

Park National Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.75 and a 200-day moving average of $122.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.70.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Park National Co. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Park National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRK. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Park National during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Numerai GP LLC acquired a new position in Park National during the third quarter worth $200,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Park National during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Park National by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Park National during the fourth quarter worth $238,000. 62.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.