Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) reported earnings on March 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 31 (Q1), Hovnanian Enterprises met expectations on revenue and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and GAAP loss per share contracted.

Gross margin dropped, operating margin dropped, and net margin grew.

Revenue details
Hovnanian Enterprises reported revenue of $269.3 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $273.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 6.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $252.6 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at -$0.36. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.45 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$0.17 for Q1 against -$0.82 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 11.6%, 650 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -7.5%, 340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -6.8%, 1,860 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $291.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.42.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.26 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$1.51.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 469 members out of 1,040 rating the stock outperform, and 571 members rating it underperform. Among 320 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 100 give Hovnanian Enterprises a green thumbs-up, and 220 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Hovnanian Enterprises is underperform, with an average price target of $1.50.

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