Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in National Vision Holdings, Inc. $EYE

Key Points

• Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC purchased 120,094 shares of National Vision Holdings, valued at approximately $1.54 million, now owning about 0.15% of the company.
• National Vision recently reported $0.18 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.12, with revenue up by 7.7% year-over-year.
• Insider Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares at an average price of $24.33, reducing his stake by 20.14% in a recent transaction.

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 120,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,535,000. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC owned about 0.15% of National Vision as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,568,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,066,000 after purchasing an additional 156,741 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,996,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,850,000 after purchasing an additional 320,565 shares during the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 3,875,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,648 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in National Vision by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,776,285 shares of the company's stock worth $22,701,000 after acquiring an additional 193,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC grew its holdings in National Vision by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,343,328 shares of the company's stock worth $17,168,000 after acquiring an additional 352,228 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EYE shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of National Vision in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of National Vision from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. National Bankshares set a $30.00 price target on shares of National Vision in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of National Vision in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Vision from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.73.

Insider Activity at National Vision

In other news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of National Vision stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.33, for a total value of $3,342,942.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 544,795 shares in the company, valued at $13,254,862.35. The trade was a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

National Vision Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ EYE traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.42. 378,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,092,546. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.56 and a 52-week high of $25.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of -124.56, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. National Vision had a negative net margin of 0.75% and a positive return on equity of 3.56%. The company had revenue of $486.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $469.21 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. National Vision's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal 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.