Sapience Investments LLC Reduces Position in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Sapience Investments LLC cut its stake in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,420 shares during the quarter. Sapience Investments LLC owned about 0.28% of National Vision worth $2,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EYE. Engine Capital Management LP lifted its position in National Vision by 127.5% during the 4th quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 2,528,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,002 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of National Vision during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,594,000. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Vision during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,827,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of National Vision by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,308,375 shares of the company's stock worth $24,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd bought a new stake in shares of National Vision in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,605,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National Vision news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 11,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,375. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EYE shares. Citigroup raised National Vision from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on National Vision from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.75.

National Vision Stock Performance

Shares of National Vision stock traded down $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $18.63. 585,469 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,797,251. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -93.18, a PEG 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 $19.49.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $510.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS 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.