Wall Street Reacts To Nordstrom's Disappointing Q1: 'We See The Turnaround As Likely Paused For Now'

Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) are still reeling after the retailer reported a disappointing first-quarter report Tuesday. Here's what the sell-side has to say. 

Bank Of America Merrill Lynch

The company’s sales drop is worse than expected and was exacerbated by execution missteps, analyst Lorraine Hutchinson said in a Tuesday note. 

“Nordstrom is taking steps to course-correct and extending the pre-shop Anniversary Sale period for its top loyalty customers in 2Q, but we are concerned that weakness will continue given waning consumer tailwinds," the analyst said.

"Merchandising has been a key challenge, and fixing assortment issues is not easy." 

BofA reiterated an Underperform rating on Nordstrom and lowered the price target from $40 to $32.

Wedbush 

Analyst Jen Redding maintained a Neutral rating on Nordstrom and lowered the price target from $40 to $35.

“While we believe that it is within management’s ability to rectify issues, with all data points inflecting negatively so quickly, deterioration continuing into May, and investors adjusting to less visibility on the horizon, we see the turnaround as likely paused for now,” the analyst said. 

KeyBanc Capital Markets 

Nordstrom’s turnaround is taking longer than anticipated, analyst Edward Yruma said in a Tuesday note.

Its operational issues look more deep-seated, but the analyst said he remains confident the company will fix its self-inflicted issues in the medium-term — and said he views its valuation as attractive.

Nordstrom has highly attractive long-term risk-reward prospects, Yruma said. 

“While timing on a turnaround has been disappointing, we believe that the market under appreciates the value of the e-commerce business and Rack.”

KeyBanc maintained an Overweight rating on Nordstrom and lowered the price target from $55 to $52.

Baird

Analyst Mark Altschwager maintained a Neutral rating and lowered the price target from $45 to $38.

“While we believe valuation looks inexpensive and progress on cost savings is commendable, we expect value interest to remain anemic until visibility into better/more consistent comp & GM trends emerge — especially as tariffs add to earnings uncertainty for the Softlines sector,” the analyst said.

Price Action

Nordstrom shares were down 9.93 percent at $34.10 at the time of publication Wednesday. 

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