Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 392,205 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,189 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of National Vision worth $5,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in National Vision by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,411,838 shares of the company's stock worth $108,491,000 after buying an additional 167,735 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in National Vision by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,675,539 shares of the company's stock worth $48,719,000 after buying an additional 2,715,582 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in National Vision by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,702,371 shares of the company's stock worth $38,577,000 after buying an additional 30,235 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP boosted its stake in National Vision by 127.5% during the fourth quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 2,528,053 shares of the company's stock worth $26,342,000 after buying an additional 1,417,002 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in National Vision by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,308,375 shares of the company's stock worth $24,053,000 after buying an additional 1,036,459 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Vision

In other 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 transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EYE. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of National Vision in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, National Bankshares set a $30.00 price objective on shares of National Vision in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.10.

National Vision Stock Performance

EYE stock remained flat at $25.09 during trading on Friday. 1,833,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,916,338. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.54. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $9.56 and a one year high of $25.52.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $510.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. National Vision's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

National Vision 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.