National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,781,584 shares of the company's stock after selling 638,081 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 3.53% of National Vision worth $28,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EYE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in National Vision by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 425,788 shares of the company's stock worth $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 134,179 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Vision by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 847,118 shares of the company's stock worth $8,827,000 after buying an additional 177,451 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of National Vision by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in National Vision by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 862,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,987,000 after buying an additional 90,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in National Vision during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EYE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on National Vision from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America raised National Vision from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National Vision has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.14.

National Vision Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EYE opened at $17.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day moving average is $12.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $17.26.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $510.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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