Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 100.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,590 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 66,015 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.17% of National Vision worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of National Vision by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 12,783 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision during the 4th quarter valued at about $178,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of National Vision by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,411,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,491,000 after acquiring an additional 167,735 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision during the 4th quarter valued at about $176,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of National Vision by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,308,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036,459 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on EYE. Loop Capital raised their target price on National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays upgraded National Vision from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $17.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upgraded National Vision from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $13.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut National Vision from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.18.

National Vision Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of National Vision stock opened at $24.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.17. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.56 and a 1-year high of $25.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $510.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $510.30 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.44% and a negative net margin of 1.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts predict that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Vision

In other news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,700 shares in the company, valued at $219,375. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.