National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $9.56 and last traded at $9.60, with a volume of 115807 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EYE shares. UBS Group cut their target price on National Vision from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on National Vision from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of National Vision from $16.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

National Vision Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $761.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.41.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $451.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.35 million. National Vision had a negative net margin of 4.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that National Vision Holdings, Inc. will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of National Vision

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in National Vision by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 868,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,170,000 after buying an additional 54,934 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in National Vision by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,882,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,911,000 after purchasing an additional 54,422 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in National Vision by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 68,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of National Vision by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter.

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.