Share price as of Thursday's close:

$17.82

Share price now:

$19.85

Change:

11%

Volume:

3.9 million shares, daily average 607,700

52-week high:

$22.97

52-week low:

13.80

Forward P/E before announcement:

24.4

Forward P/E after announcement:

27.1

IT WASN'T AN earth-shatteringly good presentation, but investors who've seen upscale retailer Nordstrom struggle mightily for the past 18 months were apparently happy to hear anything positive on Friday. In the face of sputtering sales, the Seattle company reported a third-quarter profit of eight cents a share four cents better than the Street expected and hinted at better things to come over the next year. Its stock, which had fallen 38% from its 52-week high coming into November, rose 11% on the day, to $19.85.

True, Nordstrom's same-store sales during the third quarter fell 5.7% as the recession took its toll. And the company's earnings dropped 56%, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of decline. Yet it countered those trends by aggressively slicing its expenses. The company shed $22 million in administrative and purchasing costs during the third quarter, continued to scale back Nordstrom.com and lowered its once-bulging inventories.

Nordstrom also impressed analysts by setting a fourth-quarter earnings range of 27 cents to 31 cents a share, greater than the Street's estimate of 19 cents. Most of that reflected the company's promise to manage expenses, but it also shows a desire to broaden merchandise lines, according to Lehman Brothers analyst Jeffrey Feiner.

Quote
"We recognize that a market multiple for a company that has had such a checkered past is a stretch in a post-recovery environment, but during a period when investors elect to pay up for recovery (regardless of timing or magnitude), our targets [of $23 to $27 a share] should be achievable," wrote Lazard Freres's Mark Picard, who upgraded Nordstrom to Buy from Hold.