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

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) was the target 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. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

National Vision Stock Performance

National Vision stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $11.08. 467,219 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,356,656. National Vision has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $24.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $872.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.12.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Vision

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Vision by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,737,000 after acquiring an additional 45,754 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of National Vision by 17.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,412,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,408,000 after buying an additional 208,684 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of National Vision by 38.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 33,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 9,342 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of National Vision in the third quarter valued at approximately $613,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Vision by 309.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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