Park National (NYSE:PRK) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 231,161 shares were traded during 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Park National Stock Down 3.5 %

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’s 50-day moving average is $168.39 and its 200 day moving average is $152.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Transactions at Park National

In other news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,470.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,470.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.06, for a total transaction of $84,925.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $173,030.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,701,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,009,000 after purchasing an additional 12,925 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 74.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 40,100.0% in the second 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 period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Park National in the second quarter valued at $499,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 5.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. 62.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.