Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:HOV) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:HOV) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 193,500 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 205,100 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 78,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in a report on Monday, December 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hovnanian Enterprises news, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian sold 644 shares of Hovnanian Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.99, for a total transaction of $125,573.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,898,368.65. The trade was a 1.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Edward A. Kangas sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.86, for a total transaction of $283,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,290 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,949.40. This trade represents a 10.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 98.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,472 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,023,000 after purchasing an additional 14,624 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hovnanian Enterprises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises during the 3rd quarter worth about $647,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises in the third quarter worth approximately $347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.40% of the company’s stock.

Hovnanian Enterprises Stock Performance

NYSE:HOV opened at $133.82 on Thursday. Hovnanian Enterprises has a 1-year low of $125.63 and a 1-year high of $240.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.11. The firm has a market cap of $809.61 million, a PE ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

About Hovnanian Enterprises

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, constructs, markets, and sells residential homes in the United States. It offers single-family detached homes, attached townhomes and condominiums, urban infill, and active lifestyle homes with amenities, such as clubhouses, swimming pools, tennis courts, tot lots, and open areas.