Sei Investments Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises Inc $HOV

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) by 101.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 35,288 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 17,811 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises were worth $3,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake 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 worth $4,142,000 after buying an additional 37,060 shares during the period. Towle & Co. grew its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 99,402 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,696,000 after acquiring an additional 33,681 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 228,613 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,299,000 after acquiring an additional 18,086 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,187 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,749,000 after acquiring an additional 16,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 47,574 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 15,041 shares in the last quarter. 65.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HOV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hovnanian Enterprises from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. 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 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hovnanian Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Insider Activity at Hovnanian Enterprises

In related news, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian sold 12,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total value of $1,620,046.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J Larry Sorsby sold 1,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.57, for a total value of $147,132.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 187,416 shares in the company, valued at $26,719,899.12. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 22.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hovnanian Enterprises Price Performance

NYSE:HOV opened at $134.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $127.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.84. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc has a 12 month low of $91.52 and a 12 month high of $162.05. The firm has a market cap of $786.41 million, a P/E ratio of 36.87 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $667.65 million for 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%.

Hovnanian Enterprises 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.