Wall Street Zen Upgrades National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) to Buy

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on EYE. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of National Vision in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of National Vision from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $30.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. National Bankshares set a $30.00 target price on shares of National Vision in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of National Vision from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on National Vision

National Vision Price Performance

Shares of EYE stock opened at $25.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of -75.79, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.27. National Vision has a 52-week low of $9.56 and a 52-week high of $25.39.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company 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 1.40% and a positive return on equity of 3.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that National Vision will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at National Vision

In other National Vision news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,375. This represents a 50.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Vision

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,568,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,066,000 after acquiring an additional 156,741 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,996,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,850,000 after acquiring an additional 320,565 shares in the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 3,875,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,648 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,702,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,577,000 after acquiring an additional 30,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,308,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036,459 shares in the last quarter.

National Vision Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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