Financial Survey: Park National (NYSE:PRK) vs. Lyons Bancorp (OTCMKTS:LYBC)

Lyons Bancorp (OTCMKTS:LYBC) and Park National (NYSE:PRK) are both 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.

Dividends

Lyons Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Lyons Bancorp pays out 36.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Park National pays out 50.2% 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. Lyons Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lyons Bancorp 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
Lyons Bancorp	$70.28 million	1.95	$17.35 million	$4.45	9.16
Park National	$564.30 million	5.51	$126.73 million	$8.45	22.78

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

Profitability

This table compares Lyons Bancorp and Park National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyons Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
Park National	22.09%	12.05%	1.44%

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyons Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Park National	0	2	0	0	2.00

Park National has a consensus target price of $130.00, indicating a potential downside of 32.46%. Given Park National’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Park National is more favorable than Lyons Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.3% of Lyons Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of Park National shares are held by institutional investors. 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.

Volatility & Risk

Lyons Bancorp has a beta of -0.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Park National beats Lyons Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lyons Bancorp

Lyons Bancorp Inc. operates as a financial holding company for The Lyons National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services to individual and small business customers. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; commercial real estate, agricultural real estate, commercial and agricultural, and consumer instalment loans; and residential real estate loans, such as classes for 1-4 family and home equity loans, as well as consumer loans comprising recreational, auto, personal, personal line of credit, and home improvement loans; financial services, including retirement strategy, investment management, education savings, life insurance, long-term care insurance, and employer and employee benefit services. The company also provides mortgage, online and mobile banking, telephone banking, credit and debit card, online cash management, merchant, safe deposit boxes, wire transfer, traveller program, online bill pay, e-statements, money orders, and official checks services. It operates branches in Wayne, Onondaga, Yates, Ontario, Monroe, Seneca, and Cayuga counties, New York. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Lyons, New York.

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.