Short Interest in Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) Declines By 6.8%

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,060,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the August 15th total of 14,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 14.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Nordstrom

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nordstrom during the 4th quarter worth $23,572,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Nordstrom by 185.0% during the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 211,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,287,000 after buying an additional 137,271 shares during the period. Boulder Hill Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Nordstrom in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,065,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Nordstrom by 152.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 169,604 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after buying an additional 102,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nordstrom by 347.2% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 309,299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,707,000 after acquiring an additional 240,134 shares during the period. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordstrom Stock Performance

Shares of JWN opened at $22.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.07. Nordstrom has a 1 year low of $12.88 and a 1 year high of $24.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.89.

Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. Nordstrom had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a negative return on equity of 21.26%. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nordstrom will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordstrom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Nordstrom’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on JWN. StockNews.com raised shares of Nordstrom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Nordstrom from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays upgraded Nordstrom from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Nordstrom from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Nordstrom from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nordstrom currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.23.

About Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc, a fashion retailer, provides apparels, shoes, beauty, accessories, and home goods for women, men, young adults, and children. It offers a range of brand-name and private-label merchandise through various channels, such as Nordstrom branded stores and online at Nordstrom.com; Nordstrom.ca; Nordstrom stores; Nordstrom Rack stores; Nordstrom Locals; ASOS; Nordstromrack.com; mobile application; and clearance stores under the Last Chance name.