Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 45,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Vision from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Citigroup upgraded shares of National Vision from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of National Vision in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.10.

National Vision Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:EYE opened at $25.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of -76.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.27. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $25.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.18.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last issued its earnings results 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 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at National Vision

In other news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the company’s 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 owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.