Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc.

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 in the United States. 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, recreational vehicle, and watercraft 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.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and commercial banking solutions in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Indiana in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts. It also offers loan products comprising one-to-four-family residential real estate loans, shorter-term consumer loans, and loans collateralized by multi-family residential and commercial real estate, as well as commercial business loans; residential mortgage loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; commercial loans and financing solutions; and other consumer loans, including auto refinance loans, indirect automobile and recreational loans, unsecured personal loans, credit card loans, and loans secured by investment accounts. In addition, the company offers investment and cash management; estate and trust services; digital and online banking; certificates of deposit; credit cards; student and small business loans; private banking, planning, and investments; retirement plans; liquidity management for commercial checking and savings; treasury and wealth management; insurance; employee benefit plans; and financial planning services. It serves individuals, businesses, and charitable institutions. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Latest Banks and Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. Stock News

As of June 1, 2026, Park National Corporation had a $3.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $721.3 million. Park National Corporation’s stock is up 12.3% in 2026, in the previous five trading days and up 3.34% in the past year.

Currently, Park National Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 15.6. Park National Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $573.2 million with a 31.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.230 per share for the current fiscal year. Park National Corporation currently has a 2.6% dividend yield.

As of June 1, 2026, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. had a $2.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 54th percentile of all stocks. Northwest Bancshares, Inc.’s stock is up 17.7% in 2026, up 0.1% in the previous five trading days and up 13.12% in the past year.

Currently, Northwest Bancshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.9. Northwest Bancshares, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $621.5 million with a 21.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 15.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.379 per share for the current fiscal year. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. currently has a 5.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Park National Corporation	PRK	D
Northwest Bancshares, Inc.	NWBI	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Park National Corporation has a Value Score of 34, which is Expensive. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a Value Score of 48, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Park National Corporation	PRK	C
Northwest Bancshares, Inc.	NWBI	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Park National Corporation has a Momentum Score of 42, which is Average. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 54, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Park National Corporation	PRK	C
Northwest Bancshares, Inc.	NWBI	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Park National Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 59, which is Neutral. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 71, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Northwest Bancshares, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Park National Corporation. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Estimate Revisions and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Park National Corporation stock has a Value Score of 34, Momentum Score of 42 and Estimate Revisions Score of 59.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 48, Momentum Score of 54 and Estimate Revisions Score of 71.

Comparing Park National Corporation, Northwest Bancshares and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.