Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in Hovnanian Enterprises Inc $HOV

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) by 29.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,674 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,182 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.25% of Hovnanian Enterprises worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $22,299,000 after acquiring an additional 18,086 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 175,186 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,089,000 after purchasing 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% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 121,488 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,850,000 after purchasing an additional 8,571 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 111,600 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Towle & Co. boosted 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 valued at $9,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,681 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.40% of the company’s stock.

Hovnanian Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HOV opened at $135.84 on Thursday. Hovnanian Enterprises Inc has a fifty-two week low of $91.52 and a fifty-two week high of $162.05. The company has a market cap of $796.04 million, a PE ratio of 37.32 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.44.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $667.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.40 million. Hovnanian Enterprises had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 11.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HOV. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hovnanian Enterprises from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They set a “market underperform” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $97.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J Larry Sorsby sold 1,032 shares of Hovnanian Enterprises stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.57, for a total transaction of $147,132.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 187,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,719,899.12. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian sold 12,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.78, for a total transaction of $1,620,046.40. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 22.67% 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.