Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys Shares of 36,574 National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 36,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of National Vision by 282.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,843 shares of the company's stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 56,017 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision during the first quarter valued at $1,599,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in National Vision in the 4th quarter worth about $2,264,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in National Vision by 246.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 98,215 shares of the company's stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 69,906 shares in the last quarter.

National Vision Price Performance

Shares of National Vision stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $23.33. 2,367,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.69, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.27. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $24.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.55.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $510.30 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.44% and a negative net margin of 1.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Research analysts forecast that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at National Vision

In related news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of National Vision stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 directly owned 11,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,375. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EYE shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $19.00 price target on National Vision and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup raised National Vision from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on National Vision from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

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.