Retail

What to Look for in Nordstom's Earnings

Chris Lange

Published: February 18, 2016 12:45 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:01 pm

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is set to release its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report after the markets close on Thursday. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates call for $1.22 in earnings per share (EPS) on revenue of $4.22 billion. In the same period of the previous year, the retailer posted EPS of $1.32 and $4.04 billion in revenue.

Now one of the leading fashion specialty retailers based in the United States, Nordstrom was founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle. Today, Nordstrom operates over 250 stores in 35 states, including 117 full-line stores, 140 Nordstrom Racks, two Jeffrey boutiques and one clearance store. At this time last year, the company raised its dividend by 10% for the sixth consecutive year, and we might expect something similar again.

The company previously had announced the opening of three full-line stores in the Toronto area beginning this year, and it already has full-line stores in Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver.

Karen McKibbin, president of Nordstrom Canada, commented on the expansion:

We’re excited to announce our first Nordstrom Rack in Canada in such a wonderful location and provide Canadian customers another way to shop their favorite Nordstrom brands at great prices, We want to be a part of compelling locations across the country and this is a great first step. We look forward to getting our doors open to serve customers in Toronto.

Prior to the earnings report, a few analysts weighed in on Nordstrom:

• Sterne Agee CRT has a Neutral rating and a price target of $55.
• Barclays has an Underweight rating with a $42 price target.
• Wolfe Research has a Peer Perform rating.
• Deutsche Bank has a Buy rating with $59 price target.

So far in 2016, Nordstrom has outperformed the market, with the stock up nearly 5% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is down about 18%.

Shares of Nordstrom were down 1.1% at $51.67 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $55.48 and a 52-week training range of $44.49 to $83.16.