National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.46 and last traded at $22.35, with a volume of 2602840 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EYE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of National Vision from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of National Vision from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of National Vision from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $19.00 price target on shares of National Vision and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Vision currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.67.

National Vision Trading Up 2.9%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $16.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of -69.69, a PEG ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 1.24.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. National Vision had a negative net margin of 1.40% and a positive return on equity of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $510.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $510.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Ravi Acharya sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,700 shares in the company, valued at $219,375. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 4.9% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 24,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 69.3% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 45,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in National Vision by 2.0% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 79,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 1,579 shares during the period.

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.