National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, a growth of 13.4% from the December 15th total of 3,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on National Vision from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Trading of National Vision

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EYE. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in National Vision by 153.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 127,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 77,096 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of National Vision by 115.7% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,479,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,023 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in National Vision by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,737,000 after purchasing an additional 45,754 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in National Vision by 17.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,412,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,408,000 after purchasing an additional 208,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in National Vision during the third quarter valued at $613,000.

National Vision Price Performance

EYE stock opened at $10.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $850.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.00, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. National Vision has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $24.11.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $451.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. National Vision’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that National Vision will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

National Vision Company 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.