Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) Stock Price Down 5.3% Following Insider Selling

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:HOV)’s share price traded down 5.3% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $203.43 and last traded at $203.99. 46,828 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 82,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.42.

Specifically, CEO Ara K. Hovnanian sold 123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.13, for a total value of $27,075.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,380,450.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director J Larry Sorsby sold 4,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.61, for a total transaction of $916,427.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 127,982 shares in the company, valued at $28,874,019.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hovnanian Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Hovnanian Enterprises Trading Up 2.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.93.

Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The construction company reported $9.75 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $722.70 million for the quarter. Hovnanian Enterprises had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 52.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. will post 30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Hovnanian Enterprises

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HOV. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hovnanian Enterprises in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,259,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 72.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 45,363 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,438,000 after acquiring an additional 19,031 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 16.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 133,933 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $19,008,000 after acquiring an additional 18,622 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 425,175.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,011 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 17,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hovnanian Enterprises by 6.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 280,435 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $44,011,000 after acquiring an additional 16,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.40% of the company’s stock.

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.