Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc (NYSE:HOV) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 113,821 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the previous session’s volume of 99,038 shares.The stock last traded at $104.3860 and had previously closed at $107.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HOV shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hovnanian Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.00.

Hovnanian Enterprises Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $616.49 million, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.55.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The construction company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 14.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hovnanian Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HOV. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hovnanian Enterprises by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 42,063 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after buying an additional 7,353 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,242 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,663 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Hovnanian Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth $1,141,000. 65.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.