Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Trading Up 9.6% – Should You Buy?

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) shares rose 9.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $140.00 and last traded at $139.7760. Approximately 36,148 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 109,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hovnanian Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hovnanian Enterprises from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a “market underperform” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $97.00.

Hovnanian Enterprises Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $827.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81 and a beta of 1.84.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hovnanian Enterprises news, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian sold 12,880 shares of Hovnanian Enterprises stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total transaction of $1,620,046.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 22.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hovnanian Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOV. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 686.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 42,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 37,060 shares in the last quarter. Towle & Co. raised its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 99,402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,681 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 46.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $8,113,000 after purchasing an additional 23,234 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 228,613 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,299,000 after purchasing an additional 18,086 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 101.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,288 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 17,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.40% of the company’s stock.

About Hovnanian Enterprises

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.