National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Short Interest Update

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. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

National Vision Price Performance

EYE stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $11.08. 467,219 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,356,656. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.12. National Vision has a 1-year low of $9.56 and a 1-year high of $24.11. The company has a market cap of $872.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.24, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.44. 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 (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $451.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.13 million. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 0.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that National Vision will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in National Vision during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in National Vision during the third quarter worth about $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in National Vision by 309.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in National Vision by 197.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,372 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EYE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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 target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.40.

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.