Nordstrom Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 16,675 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 228% compared to the typical volume of 5,084 call options.

Nordstrom Stock Performance

Shares of JWN opened at $22.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. Nordstrom has a 12 month low of $14.80 and a 12 month high of $24.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 2.59.

Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The specialty retailer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Nordstrom’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Nordstrom will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordstrom Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nordstrom news, COO Alexis Depree sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $464,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 169,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,928,479.20. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordstrom

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nordstrom by 355.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nordstrom by 101.8% during the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Nordstrom during the second quarter worth $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordstrom by 10,045.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,435 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Nordstrom in the second quarter valued at about $71,000. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on JWN shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Nordstrom from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Nordstrom from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Nordstrom from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Nordstrom from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Nordstrom from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.65.

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.