Inspire Investing LLC Sells 11,413 Shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. $EYE

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in National Vision Holdings, Inc. by 29.8%, now holding 26,874 shares valued at approximately $343,000.
• Insider transactions included Chairman L Reade Fahs selling 137,400 shares for over $3.3 million, marking a 20.14% decrease in his ownership.
• Analysis from brokerages indicates a shift in sentiment for National Vision, with Wall Street Zen upgrading their rating from "hold" to "buy", while analysts set target prices ranging from $22.00 to $36.00.

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its holdings in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,874 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,413 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in National Vision were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EYE. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in National Vision by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 847,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,827,000 after buying an additional 177,451 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in National Vision by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 56,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 16,337 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in National Vision by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in National Vision by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 470,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,905,000 after buying an additional 58,785 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in National Vision by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 7,221 shares during the period.

National Vision Stock Up 1.9%

National Vision stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.92. 5,650,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,962,843. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.56 and a 52-week high of $27.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $486.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $469.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EYE shares. 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 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of National Vision from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. 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 note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of National Vision from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of National Vision in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National Vision news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.