Short Interest in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Grows By 13.4%

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Vision

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of National Vision by 64.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of National Vision during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in National Vision during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in National Vision by 309.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Vision by 197.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,372 shares in the last quarter.

National Vision Stock Performance

Shares of National Vision stock traded down $0.34 on Monday, hitting $11.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,022,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,019. The stock has a market cap of $870.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. National Vision has a twelve month low of $9.56 and a twelve month high of $24.11.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $451.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $451.13 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that National Vision will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EYE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of National Vision from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of National Vision from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.40.

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.