Voya Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,812 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,937 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in National Vision were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 167,735 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of National Vision by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 9,038 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of National Vision by 309.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of National Vision by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after buying an additional 11,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision during the 4th quarter valued at $247,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EYE. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.57.

National Vision Price Performance

Shares of National Vision stock opened at $18.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of -93.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.02. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $18.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.81.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $510.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $510.30 million. National Vision had a negative net margin of 0.81% and a positive return on equity of 3.52%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current 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.