Park National (NYSE:PRK) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Park National (NYSE:PRK) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Park National in a report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Park National Price Performance

Park National stock traded down $1.97 on Wednesday, reaching $157.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 36,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,428. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.91. Park National has a twelve month low of $91.78 and a twelve month high of $190.84. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $150.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.50.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $126.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.52 million. Park National had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 22.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.66, for a total transaction of $98,640.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,470.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.06, for a total value of $84,925.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $173,030.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.66, for a total value of $98,640.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,470.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Park National

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRK. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Park National by 40,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,010 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Park National by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Park National in the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Park National in the 2nd quarter valued at about $499,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Park National by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 153,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,860,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. 62.65% of the stock is 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.