Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Shares Up 11% – Here’s Why

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) rose 11% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $133.14 and last traded at $134.1340. Approximately 92,815 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 108,988 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HOV. Weiss Ratings cut Hovnanian Enterprises from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Hovnanian Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp began coverage on Hovnanian Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They set a “market underperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Hovnanian Enterprises Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $777.67 million, a PE ratio of 36.48 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.04) by $1.58. Hovnanian Enterprises had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $667.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.40 million.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 72.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 614.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 557 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at about $62,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,369 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. 65.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hovnanian Enterprises Company Profile

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc is a publicly traded homebuilding company primarily engaged in the acquisition, development and construction of residential properties. Headquartered in Red Bank, New Jersey, the company operates through a network of regional homebuilding divisions that design and deliver a range of housing solutions, including single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominiums. Hovnanian combines land development, architectural design and construction services with in-house mortgage and insurance offerings to provide a comprehensive homebuying experience.

The company markets its communities under several branded product lines tailored to different buyer segments and price points.