DISTRESSED DAILY: Homebuilder Hovnanian Profits Help Ease Debt

Homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. has been able to deploy its increased profits and cash to trim its debt, winning praise from S&P Global Ratings as the industry faces slower construction times.

Over the last five years, the New Jersey-based company increased its number of future homesites by almost 20% even as overall inventories have declined modestly, S&P Global Ratings analyst William R Mack said in a July 29 note. Hovnanian’s inventory turns are the second-highest among builders that S&P rates after NVR Inc. and nearly double that of most of its peers.

S&P upgraded the company one notch to ...