Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Trading Down 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) dropped 5.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $109.61 and last traded at $108.8650. Approximately 85,911 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 109,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hovnanian Enterprises Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $635.31 million, a P/E ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.87.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The construction company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.04) by $1.58. Hovnanian Enterprises had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 1.92%.The company had revenue of $667.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.40 million.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hovnanian Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 8.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 175,186 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,089,000 after buying an additional 3,514 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 121,488 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,850,000 after buying an additional 8,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 111,600 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,888,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Finally, Towle & Co. grew its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 99,402 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,696,000 after buying an additional 33,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.40% of the company’s stock.

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.