National Vision Holdings, Inc. $EYE Shares Acquired by Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its holdings in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 33.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 836,359 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 209,917 shares during the quarter. National Vision makes up 1.2% of Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in National Vision were worth $19,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of National Vision by 69.3% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision in the second quarter valued at about $83,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of National Vision by 49.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision in the second quarter valued at about $128,000.

National Vision Price Performance

National Vision stock opened at $27.02 on Thursday. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.93 and a 12-month high of $29.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -150.11, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $486.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.21 million. National Vision had a negative net margin of 0.75% and a positive return on equity of 3.56%. National Vision’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EYE shares. National Bankshares set a $30.00 target price on shares of National Vision in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of National Vision in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of National Vision in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $27.00 price objective on shares of National Vision and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of National Vision from $17.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National Vision news, Chairman L Reade Fahs sold 137,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.33, for a total transaction of $3,342,942.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 544,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,254,862.35. This trade represents a 20.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.