National Vision's (EYE) Sell (D-) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) received a "sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating concerns about the company's stock performance.
• Despite the negative rating, several analysts have set positive price targets, with Bank of America raising its target from $22.00 to $26.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.18, surpassing expectations, and a revenue of $486.42 million, reflecting a 7.7% year-over-year growth.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating restated by Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

EYE has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. National Bankshares set a $30.00 price target on shares of National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of National Vision from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $27.00 price target on shares of National Vision and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.73.

National Vision Price Performance

EYE opened at $27.54 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of -153.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.30. National Vision has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $29.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.52.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $486.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $469.21 million. National Vision had a negative net margin of 0.75% and a positive return on equity of 3.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that National Vision will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Vision

In related news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.33, for a total value of $3,342,942.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 544,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,254,862.35. This represents a 20.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in National Vision by 18.2% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 60,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,343 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in National Vision by 121,576.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 36,503 shares of the company's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 36,473 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in National Vision during the second quarter worth about $676,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in National Vision by 70.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 98,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 40,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in National Vision in the second quarter valued at about $405,000.

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.

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