Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.99 and last traded at $24.90, with a volume of 5057686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Nordstrom from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on Nordstrom from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Nordstrom from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nordstrom from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Nordstrom from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.58.

Nordstrom Stock Up 7.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 2.59.

Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.88 billion. Nordstrom had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a negative return on equity of 21.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nordstrom, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Nordstrom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Nordstrom’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Nordstrom news, COO Alexis Depree sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were 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 $3,928,479.20. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nordstrom

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordstrom by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,653,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $215,936,000 after acquiring an additional 579,001 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Nordstrom by 217.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Nordstrom by 0.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 90,144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,828,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordstrom during the first quarter worth about $275,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Nordstrom by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

Nordstrom Company Profile

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.