Contrasting Park National (NYSE:PRK) and First National of Nebraska (OTCMKTS:FINN)

First National of Nebraska (OTCMKTS:FINN) and Park National (NYSE:PRK) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.7% of First National of Nebraska shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of Park National shares are held by institutional investors. 41.7% of First National of Nebraska shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Park National shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares First National of Nebraska and Park National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First National of Nebraska	N/A	N/A	N/A
Park National	22.67%	12.49%	1.44%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for First National of Nebraska and Park National, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First National of Nebraska	0	0	0	0	N/A
Park National	0	2	0	0	2.00

Park National has a consensus target price of $130.00, indicating a potential downside of 25.91%. Given Park National’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Park National is more favorable than First National of Nebraska.

Volatility & Risk

First National of Nebraska has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First National of Nebraska and Park National’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First National of Nebraska	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Park National	$481.03 million	5.89	$126.73 million	$7.90	22.21

Park National has higher revenue and earnings than First National of Nebraska.

Dividends

First National of Nebraska pays an annual dividend of $120.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Park National pays out 53.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Park National beats First National of Nebraska on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First National of Nebraska

First National of Nebraska, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First National Bank of Omaha that provides various banking products and services. The company offers checking, savings, and individual retirement accounts; certificates of deposit; and credit cards. It also provides personal loans and lines of credit; auto loans; mortgage loans; home equity lines of credit and loans; small business loans and lines of credit; small business administration loans; and commercial lending solutions. In addition, the company offers treasury management, debt consolidation, financial planning, retirement planning, wealth management, merchant, and payroll services; and personal, commercial, and farm insurance products. Further, it provides solutions for agribusiness, commercial real estate, healthcare, transportation, and correspondent banking; investment services, such as capital market and institutional asset management; and digital banking services. First National of Nebraska, Inc. was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

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.