Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,290,000 shares, a drop of 13.6% from the August 31st total of 13,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 10.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Nordstrom Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Nordstrom stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $22.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,653,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,304,826. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 2.61. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.08. Nordstrom has a 52 week low of $12.88 and a 52 week high of $24.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. Nordstrom had a negative return on equity of 21.26% and a negative net margin of 1.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Nordstrom will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordstrom Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Nordstrom's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nordstrom news, COO Alexis Depree sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $464,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 169,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,928,479.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.78% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordstrom

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JWN. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Nordstrom by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 57,941 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 6,013 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Nordstrom during the fourth quarter valued at about $23,572,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Nordstrom by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,039 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,551,000 after acquiring an additional 16,625 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in Nordstrom by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 145,169 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,678,000 after acquiring an additional 9,466 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Nordstrom by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,648,637 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $48,867,000 after acquiring an additional 820,390 shares during the period. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JWN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Nordstrom from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nordstrom from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Nordstrom from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Nordstrom from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nordstrom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nordstrom currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.