Short Interest in Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) Drops By 14.5%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 14.5% in March to 277,364 shares (6.0% of shares sold short) with a short-interest ratio of 3.2 days as of March 13.
• Hovnanian reported an EPS of $2.62, beating estimates, with revenue of $631.95M; the stock traded near $110.37 (market cap ≈ $655.6M) and carries a consensus “Hold” rating with a $120 average price target.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 277,364 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the February 26th total of 324,282 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,924 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Hovnanian Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of HOV stock traded up $3.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.37. 127,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,945. Hovnanian Enterprises has a 52-week low of $81.15 and a 52-week high of $162.05. 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 $655.57 million, a PE ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 2.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $117.59 and a 200 day moving average of $119.33.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by $3.60. The firm had revenue of $631.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.50 million. Hovnanian Enterprises had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 1.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOV. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 292.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 59,080 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $7,591,000 after buying an additional 44,017 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 686.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,460,000. Towle & Co. lifted its position 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 valued at $9,696,000 after acquiring an additional 33,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 8.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HOV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Hovnanian Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $120.00.

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.

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