Critical Review: Pioneer Bankshares (OTCMKTS:PNBI) & Park National (NYSE:PRK)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Pioneer Bankshares and Park National, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pioneer Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00
Park National	0	2	0	0	2.00

Park National has a consensus target price of $130.00, suggesting a potential downside of 32.36%. Given Park National’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Park National is more favorable than Pioneer Bankshares.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pioneer Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A
Park National	22.09%	12.05%	1.44%

Dividends

Pioneer Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Park National pays out 50.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pioneer Bankshares and Park National”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pioneer Bankshares	$15.49 million	1.61	$1.90 million	N/A	N/A
Park National	$496.69 million	6.25	$126.73 million	$8.45	22.74

Park National has higher revenue and earnings than Pioneer Bankshares.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

62.7% of Park National shares are held by institutional investors. 13.7% of Pioneer Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Park National shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Pioneer Bankshares has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Park National beats Pioneer Bankshares on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pioneer Bankshares

Pioneer Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Pioneer Bank, Inc. that provides various banking and related financial services to individual consumers, small to medium size businesses, and professional community in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, which include business and personal checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its personal loans comprise personal installment and single-pay, and auto loans; and business loans consists of operating capital, equipment loans, investment properties, lines of credit, business expansion, and property acquisition or construction, as well as home mortgage and home equity loans. In addition, the company provides credit and debit cards, safe deposit boxes, online and mobile banking tools, merchant services, and cash management services. Further, it offers investment products, such as individual retirement accounts, 529 college savings plans, small business investment strategies, fixed, and variable annuities. Additionally, the company provides personalized investment advisory services, as well as securities and insurance products and services. Pioneer Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Stanley, Virginia.

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.