Nordstrom Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 16,675 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 228% compared to the average volume of 5,084 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Nordstrom from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Nordstrom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Nordstrom from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Nordstrom from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Nordstrom from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.65.

Nordstrom Price Performance

JWN stock traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.62. 7,660,466 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,062,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 2.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.22. Nordstrom has a 12 month low of $14.80 and a 12 month high of $24.99.

Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The specialty retailer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.11. Nordstrom had a negative return on equity of 21.26% and a negative net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Nordstrom’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nordstrom will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Nordstrom Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Nordstrom’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity at Nordstrom

In related news, COO Alexis Depree sold 20,000 shares of Nordstrom 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 169,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,928,479.20. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JWN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nordstrom by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,653,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $215,936,000 after acquiring an additional 579,001 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Nordstrom by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,371,988 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,554,000 after purchasing an additional 57,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Nordstrom by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,136,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,557,000 after purchasing an additional 137,094 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nordstrom by 66.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,661,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,251,000 after purchasing an additional 661,769 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordstrom by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625,616 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,570,000 after buying an additional 5,407 shares during the period. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.