Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter financial results after the close. The Wall Street consensus forecast is calling for $0.75 in earnings per share (EPS) and $3.93 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, the upscale retailer said it had $0.95 in EPS and $4.07 billion in revenue.

The media loves to scare the public about the next recession, and one ultimately will come, even if it is not as soon as some might worry about. The problem is that some retailers with their own branded clothing or with a set of common providers have seen a lackluster summer. However, a few retailers that have reported recently could be signaling a change in the winds.

The one common theme among these retail players is that they all have apparel as their primary focus. The companies seem to be in a fight for relevance, if you only looked at their stocks, and while some companies are facing deep existential threats, there are some that have grown earnings and revenues and that are expected to keep growing.

The question remains whether Nordstrom will be one of the winners this earnings season.

Excluding Wednesday’s move, Nordstrom had underperformed the broad markets, with the stock down about 46% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock was down about 57.5%.

A few analysts weighed in on Nordstrom ahead of the results:

• Wedbush has a Positive rating with a $24 price target.
• UBS Group’s Neutral rating comes with a $33 price target.
• Goldman Sachs has a Sell rating and a $30 price target.
• Gordon Haskett has a Hold rating.
• Cowen rates it at Market Perform with a $36 price target.
• Merrill Lynch has an Underperform rating and a $32 target.

Shares of Nordstrom traded up about 3% on Wednesday to $25.93, in a 52-week range of $25.01 to $67.75. The consensus price target is $34.00.

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