Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Hovnanian Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.00.

Hovnanian Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of HOV stock opened at $124.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.03. Hovnanian Enterprises has a 12 month low of $81.15 and a 12 month high of $162.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $743.64 million, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 2.31.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($1.14). The business had revenue of $817.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.50 million. Hovnanian Enterprises had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $13.84 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hovnanian Enterprises

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 292.2% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 59,080 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,591,000 after acquiring an additional 44,017 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 686.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 42,460 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 37,060 shares during the last quarter. Forager Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Forager Capital Management LLC now owns 239,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,040,000 after purchasing an additional 36,828 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,460,000. Finally, Towle & Co. raised its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 51.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. 65.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.