National Vision Holdings, Inc. $EYE Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in National Vision Holdings by 4.9%, acquiring an additional 42,427 shares to hold a total of 904,908 shares valued at approximately $11.57 million.
• National Vision reported strong earnings, with $0.18 EPS exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.12, and revenues of $486.42 million for the last quarter.
• Several analysts have upgraded National Vision's rating, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.73.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 904,908 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,427 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.14% of National Vision worth $11,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in National Vision by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,470 shares of the company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in National Vision by 2.0% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 79,823 shares of the company's stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in National Vision by 49.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in National Vision in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National Vision news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of National Vision stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.33, for a total transaction of $3,342,942.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 544,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,254,862.35. The trade was a 20.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

National Vision Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of National Vision stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 172,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,090,926. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.23. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.56 and a 1-year high of $25.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.64.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EYE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on National Vision from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $19.00 target price on National Vision and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on National Vision from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.73.

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.