Real estate could give these retailers a boost

Article Excerpt

Since the start of 2017, Macy’s is down nearly 40%, while Nordstrom has dipped 3%. Those declines are mainly because consumers are buying more goods online. That merchandise includes department store staples such as clothing, shoes and jewellery. In response, both firms continue to expand their online businesses. So far, gains there have yet to fully offset declining sales for their bricks-and-mortar locations. The recent struggles have renewed calls from activist investors and other parties for Macy’s and Nordstrom to consider takeover offers. That’s mainly because they view the real estate holdings of those retailers as undervalued assets. However, both stocks could move lower if takeover bids fail to materialize. MACY’S INC. $22 (New York symbol M, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 304.6 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 6.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.macysinc. com) operates 700 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores. It also has 150 speciality outlets and sells goods online. In its fiscal 2018 second…