Strs Ohio Buys New Position in National Vision Holdings, Inc. $EYE

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 21,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Engine Capital Management LP grew its holdings in National Vision by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 3,875,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,648 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in National Vision by 215.0% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 861,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,010,000 after acquiring an additional 588,022 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in National Vision by 141.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 993,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,718,000 after acquiring an additional 582,353 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in National Vision during the 1st quarter worth $6,061,000. Finally, Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Vision during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,863,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EYE. Barclays cut their target price on shares of National Vision from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. National Bankshares set a $30.00 price target on National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $27.00 price objective on National Vision and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded National Vision from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.33, for a total transaction of $3,342,942.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 544,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,254,862.35. This trade represents a 20.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

National Vision Stock Performance

Shares of EYE stock opened at $28.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -157.67, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.58. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.56 and a fifty-two week high of $28.45.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $486.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.21 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 0.75%.The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. Analysts predict that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.