Park National (NYSE:PRK) Receives Market Perform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Park National (NYSE:PRK) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $178.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $187.00.

Park National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRK opened at $171.48 on Wednesday. Park National has a 1-year low of $123.08 and a 1-year high of $207.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $179.09 and a 200-day moving average of $174.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Park National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.07 dividend. This is an increase from Park National’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Park National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Park National by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Park National in the third quarter worth about $227,000. PDS Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Park National in the third quarter worth about $228,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Park National in the second quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Park National in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Park National Company Profile

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.