National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Short Interest Up 8.2% in October

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) saw a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,430,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the September 30th total of 5,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of National Vision

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EYE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,882,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,911,000 after purchasing an additional 54,422 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in National Vision by 56.2% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of National Vision by 7.4% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in National Vision by 14.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 25,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter.

National Vision Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of EYE opened at $10.40 on Friday. National Vision has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $24.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.33 and a 200-day moving average of $12.90.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.06. National Vision had a negative net margin of 4.00% and a positive return on equity of 3.53%. The company had revenue of $451.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $451.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that National Vision will post 0.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EYE has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of National Vision from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on National Vision from $16.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on National Vision from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.25.

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.