National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Position Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,440 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,149 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.07% of National Vision worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EYE. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision in the fourth quarter valued at $12,594,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of National Vision by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,308,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,459 shares during the period. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision in the fourth quarter valued at $2,605,000. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of National Vision by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 991,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,327,000 after purchasing an additional 186,014 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of National Vision by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 664,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,928,000 after purchasing an additional 185,300 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Vision

In other news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,375. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EYE shares. Citigroup raised National Vision from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on National Vision from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America upgraded National Vision from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on National Vision from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.57.

National Vision Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of EYE traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.68. 947,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,774,251. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.85. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.02. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.56 and a 1-year high of $19.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $510.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $510.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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.