First Eagle Investment Management LLC Purchases 7,500 Shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 549,302 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in National Vision were worth $5,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EYE. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in National Vision by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,737,000 after purchasing an additional 45,754 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in National Vision by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,583,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,496,000 after purchasing an additional 170,839 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in National Vision by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 523,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,456,000 after purchasing an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in National Vision by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 382,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,981,000 after purchasing an additional 11,281 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in National Vision by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 291,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,181,000 after purchasing an additional 30,012 shares during the period.

National Vision Stock Performance

Shares of National Vision stock opened at $11.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $917.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.25, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.59 and its 200 day moving average is $11.10. National Vision Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.56 and a 1 year high of $23.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EYE. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of National Vision from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of National Vision from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of National Vision from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

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.