Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Grows Stock Holdings in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its stake in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 29.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 626,442 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 143,556 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned about 0.80% of National Vision worth $8,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EYE. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in National Vision in the first quarter valued at about $190,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new stake in National Vision in the first quarter valued at about $463,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in National Vision by 18.7% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 5,144 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in National Vision by 100.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 66,015 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in National Vision by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 392,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,012,000 after purchasing an additional 10,189 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EYE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of National Vision from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $19.00 price target on shares of National Vision and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of National Vision from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, National Vision presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.10.

National Vision Price Performance

Shares of EYE traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.46. 1,368,747 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,908,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.88. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.56 and a 52-week high of $25.39. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.12, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.27.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $510.30 million. National Vision had a negative net margin of 1.40% and a positive return on equity of 3.44%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National Vision news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of National Vision stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,375. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

National Vision Company Profile

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.