Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stake in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 862,481 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,466 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in National Vision were worth $8,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of National Vision in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of National Vision by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 17,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EYE. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on National Vision from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Loop Capital upped their price target 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 upped their price target on National Vision from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on National Vision from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.57.

National Vision Stock Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:EYE opened at $19.22 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.04. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $19.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.02.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The company 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 3.52% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,375. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.