Expansion costs weigh on Nordstrom

Article Excerpt

NORDSTROM INC. $61 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 193.4 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nordstrom.com) mainly sells upscale clothing, accessories and footwear. In Nordstrom’s 2014 fiscal year, which ended February 1, 2014, its sales rose 3.3%, to $12.5 billion from $12.1 billion in 2013. Same-store sales gained 2.5%. Online sales jumped 30%. Nordstrom continues to open new stores, particularly discount outlets. The related costs were part of the reason why its earnings fell 0.1%, to $734 million from $735 million. Per-share earnings rose 4.2%, to $3.71 from $3.56, on fewer shares outstanding. The company recently took advantage of low interest rates to refinance some of its debt. These moves should cut its interest costs by $25 million in fiscal 2015, pushing up its earnings to $3.75 to $3.90 a share. The stock trades at a still-reasonable 15.9 times the midpoint of the new range. Nordstrom…