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

Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 231,161 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 348% from the previous session’s volume of 51,609 shares.The stock last traded at $170.32 and had previously closed at $175.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Park National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Park National Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.99.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $126.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.52 million. Park National had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 22.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Park National Co. will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Park National

In other news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.66, for a total transaction of $98,640.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,470.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $68,470.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 454 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.06, for a total value of $84,925.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,030.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Park National by 1.9% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Park National by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Park National by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Park National by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Park National by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 62.65% of the stock is currently owned by 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.