Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:HOV) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 65% after a shaky period beforehand. The annual gain comes to 226% following the latest surge, making investors sit up and take notice.

Even after such a large jump in price, given about half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 17x, you may still consider Hovnanian Enterprises as a highly attractive investment with its 4.7x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

The recent earnings growth at Hovnanian Enterprises would have to be considered satisfactory if not spectacular. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to degrade, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Hovnanian Enterprises

How Is Hovnanian Enterprises' Growth Trending?

Hovnanian Enterprises' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 3.4% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 328% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 10% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Hovnanian Enterprises' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

What We Can Learn From Hovnanian Enterprises' P/E?

Hovnanian Enterprises' recent share price jump still sees its P/E sitting firmly flat on the ground. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Our examination of Hovnanian Enterprises revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current market expectations. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching this positive performance. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Hovnanian Enterprises you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of Hovnanian Enterprises' business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.