Nordstrom downgraded at Piper Jaffrey on concerns over near-term underperformance
Nordstrom Inc. shares are down 1.6% in Monday trading after the retailer was downgraded to neutral from overweight at Piper Jaffrey. The price target is $62, with the stock trading at about $58. The firm's analysts believe the luxury retailer will report below-consensus earnings for the next two quarters. The firm forecasts 40 cents per share for the first quarter 2017 versus a FactSet consensus of 48 cents per share, and 68 cents per share for the second quarter versus the FactSet consensus of 74 cents per share. The warm weather issues that plagued the retail sector this winter were just one of a few problems impacting Nordstrom's sales trends, Piper Jaffrey wrote in a Monday note. With temperatures rising, the other issues are: stock market volatility, declines in international tourism and election uncertainty. "Three of the four issues haven't subsided and the fourth - weather - is likely to switch back to a headwind in the upcoming Easter-build weekend," the note said. In addition, the company's annual Anniversary Sale is bleeding into the third quarter, which could shift some same-store sales out of the second quarter. Nordstrom shares are down 29.9% for the past 12 months, but up 15.9% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is up 1.3% for the year to date.
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