Comerica Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in National Vision Holdings, Inc. $EYE

Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 110.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,703 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,344 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.07% of National Vision worth $737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of National Vision by 69.3% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of National Vision in the first quarter valued at $6,061,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of National Vision by 4.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 904,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after buying an additional 42,427 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of National Vision by 6.9% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,996,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,850,000 after buying an additional 320,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of National Vision by 13.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 164,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 19,759 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at National Vision

In other National Vision news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,254,862.35. This trade represents a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

National Vision Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:EYE opened at $23.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.31 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 $25.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.44, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.23.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $486.42 million during 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EYE. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. National Bankshares set a $30.00 price objective on National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Vision from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets set a $19.00 price objective on National Vision and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on National Vision from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.73.

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.