Analyzing Park National (NYSE:PRK) and City (NASDAQ:CHCO)

Park National (NYSE:PRK) and City (NASDAQ:CHCO) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.7% of Park National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.4% of City shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Park National shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of City shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Park National and City, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Park National	0	2	0	0	2.00
City	0	4	0	0	2.00

Park National currently has a consensus price target of $181.75, indicating a potential upside of 15.22%. City has a consensus price target of $116.75, indicating a potential downside of 0.04%. Given Park National’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Park National is more favorable than City.

Dividends

Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. City pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Park National pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. City pays out 40.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Profitability

This table compares Park National and City’s 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%
City	30.83%	16.49%	1.83%

Volatility and Risk

Park National has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, City has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Park National and City”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Park National	$520.61 million	4.90	$151.42 million	$9.31	16.94
City	$285.06 million	6.01	$117.10 million	$7.89	14.80

Park National has higher revenue and earnings than City. City is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Park National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Park National beats City on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. 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.

About City

City Holding Company operates as a holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides various banking, trust, and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. It also provides commercial and industrial loans that consist of loans to corporate and other legal entity borrowers primarily in small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; commercial real estate loans comprising commercial mortgages, which are secured by nonresidential and multi-family residential properties; residential real estate loans to consumers for the purchase or refinance of residence; first-priority home equity loans; home equity lines of credit; amortized home equity loans; consumer loans that are secured and unsecured by automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, certificates of deposit, and other personal property; and demand deposit account overdrafts, as well as owner-occupied real estate and construction, land development, and lines of credit. In addition, the company offers mortgage banking services, including fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, construction financing, land loans, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, secondary marketing, and mortgage servicing. Further, it provides deposit services for commercial customers comprising treasury management, lockbox, and other cash management services; merchant credit card services; wealth management, trust, investment, and custodial services for commercial and individual customers; and corporate trust and institutional custody, financial and estate planning, and retirement plan services, as well as automated-teller-machine, interactive-teller-machine, mobile banking, interactive voice response systems, and credit and debit card services. City Holding Company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.