Park National (NYSE:PRK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 106,161 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 79% from the previous session's volume of 59,413 shares.The stock last traded at $175.54 and had previously closed at $176.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Park National from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Park National from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Park National Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.82.

Park National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Park National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Park National

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Park National by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 160,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,551,000 after purchasing an additional 70,170 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Park National by 45,219.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,292,000 after purchasing an additional 67,829 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Park National by 427.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 64,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,054,000 after purchasing an additional 52,268 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Park National by 3,571.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 50,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,622,000 after purchasing an additional 48,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Park National during the 1st quarter valued at $5,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.