National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.60.

A number of brokerages have commented on EYE. Barclays decreased their price objective on National Vision from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

Insider Activity

In other National Vision news, CEO L Reade Fahs acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.96 per share, with a total value of $299,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 633,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,471,131.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director D Randolph Peeler bought 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.45 per share, for a total transaction of $491,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 182,880 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,616. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO L Reade Fahs bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.96 per share, with a total value of $299,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 633,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,471,131.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Vision

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EYE. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of National Vision in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,274,000. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP lifted its position in National Vision by 2,063.4% during the fourth quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 1,226,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169,876 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in National Vision by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,249,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,085,000 after acquiring an additional 654,462 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,690,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of National Vision by 859.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 361,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,572,000 after buying an additional 324,095 shares in the last quarter.

National Vision Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of EYE opened at $13.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.13, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.05. National Vision has a 52 week low of $12.80 and a 52 week high of $25.24.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $542.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.47 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.47% and a negative net margin of 3.44%. On average, analysts predict that National Vision will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

About National Vision

National Vision Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America's Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services.