Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

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

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

Hovnanian Enterprises Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:HOV opened at $124.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $743.64 million, a P/E ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 2.31. Hovnanian Enterprises has a 12-month low of $81.15 and a 12-month high of $162.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The construction company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($1.14). The company had revenue of $817.90 million during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $13.84 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hovnanian Enterprises

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 44,017 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Hovnanian Enterprises by 686.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 42,460 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after buying an additional 37,060 shares in the last quarter. Forager Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hovnanian Enterprises by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Forager Capital Management LLC now owns 239,500 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,040,000 after buying an additional 36,828 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hovnanian Enterprises during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,460,000. Finally, Towle & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 33,681 shares in the last quarter. 65.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.