Head to Head Review: Park National (PRK) and The Competition

Park National (NYSE:PRK) is one of 919 publicly-traded companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Park National to related businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Park National and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Park National	$659.59 million	$151.42 million	15.55
Park National Competitors	$9.95 billion	$2.42 billion	20.28

Park National’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Park National. Park National is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Park National and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Park National	0	5	0	0	2.00
Park National Competitors	7482	30219	27791	1473	2.35

Park National currently has a consensus price target of $196.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.05%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 16.83%. Given Park National’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Park National has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Park National and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Park National	23.46%	12.31%	1.50%
Park National Competitors	15.66%	9.44%	0.93%

Volatility & Risk

Park National has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National’s peers have a beta of 0.61, meaning that their average share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

62.7% of Park National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Park National shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Park National pays out 38.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.3% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Park National has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Park National lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Park National peers beat Park National on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. It also provides commercial loans, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, financing for equipment, inventory and accounts receivable, acquisition financing, and commercial leasing, as well as for consumer finance companies; commercial real estate loans comprising mortgage loans to developers and owners of commercial real estate; originates financing leases primarily for the purchase of commercial vehicles, operating/manufacturing equipment, and municipal vehicles/equipment; consumer loans, such as automobile loans; consumer finance services; home equity lines of credit; and residential real estate and construction loans, as well as installment loans and commercial loans. In addition, the company offers aircraft financing services; and ParkDirect, a personal banking application. Park National Corporation was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Newark, Ohio.