Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 588,022 Shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. significantly increased its stake in National Vision Holdings, Inc. by 215% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 588,022 shares for a total ownership of 861,527 shares valued at approximately $11 million.
• Recent insider activity includes Ravi Acharya, an SVP of National Vision, selling 12,000 shares at an average price of $18.75, significantly reducing their stake in the company.
• National Vision reported better-than-expected earnings on May 7, with $0.34 earnings per share, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 5.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 215.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 861,527 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 588,022 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 1.09% of National Vision worth $11,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EYE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in National Vision during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in National Vision by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in National Vision by 49.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in National Vision during the first quarter valued at about $147,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in National Vision by 61.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 4,362 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares set a $30.00 price objective on shares of National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of National Vision from $15.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of National Vision from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of National Vision in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised shares of National Vision from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.18.

National Vision Price Performance

NASDAQ:EYE traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,809,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,005,382. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.56 and a fifty-two week high of $25.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.05 and a 200-day moving average of $16.40.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. National Vision had a negative net margin of 1.40% and a positive return on equity of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $510.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Vision

In other news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,375. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.