Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Stock Price Up 4.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hovnanian Enterprises shares rose 4.8% on Friday, trading as high as $128.47 before closing near $128.16. Volume was very light at just 1,988 shares, far below the average daily volume.
• Recent earnings beat expectations, with the company reporting an adjusted loss of $0.46 per share versus the expected $2.04 loss. Revenue also came in above estimates at $667.65 million.
• Analysts remain cautious on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $97.00. Recent insider selling was also reported, including shares sold by both a director and the CEO.

Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV - Get Free Report) traded up 4.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $128.47 and last traded at $128.1550. Approximately 1,988 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 113,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HOV shares. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued a "market underperform" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hovnanian Enterprises from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. 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, Hovnanian Enterprises currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $97.00.

Hovnanian Enterprises Trading Up 3.4%

The company has a market cap of $762.09 million, a PE ratio of 35.62 and a beta of 1.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Insider Activity at Hovnanian Enterprises

In other Hovnanian Enterprises news, Director J Larry Sorsby sold 1,032 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.57, for a total transaction of $147,132.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 187,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,719,899.12. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian sold 12,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total value of $1,620,046.40. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 22.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hovnanian Enterprises

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOV. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 37,060 shares in the last quarter. Towle & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 33,681 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises by 46.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,146 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $8,113,000 after acquiring an additional 23,234 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 101.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,288 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 17,811 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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