Nordstrom is 'best-of-breed'

Nordstrom remains a strong player in the retail world despite the ongoing retail apocalypse.

And that has equity analysts at both Credit Suisse and UBS bullish on the stock.

On Thursday, the retailer announced quarterly results that beat on both the top and bottom lines. And while same-store sales were light, a group of analysts at Credit Suisse seemed unfazed, saying Nordstrom is "best-of-breed" in the department store space.

"Nordstrom demonstrated relative outperformance as strength in its eCommerce business (24% of sales and up double-digits) and Nordstrom Rack (30% of sales with comps up 2.3%), offset continued weakness in full line stores (53% of sales, comps down 2.8%)," the analysts, led by Christian Buss wrote.

UBS is singing the same tune. In a note out to clients on Friday, a group of analysts led by Michael Binetti praised the company for strong performance amid its industry's troubles. The bank said a sell-off in the stock on Thursday was an "over reaction" by the market.

"We think JWN's underlying fundamental story remains intact after 1Q-particularly given the significant SSS misses from [Kohls] & [Macy's] in the qtr-and believe Thursday's stock reaction to read-throughs from the d-stores group was overblown given the relative strength of JWN's qtr," the analysts wrote.

According to the bank, the retailer reported "slightly worse-than-expected" same-store sales, but there were some bright spots including solid inventory control.

Both Credit Suisse and UBS are bullish on Nordstrom. Credit Suisse has a $52 price target for the stock, and UBS thinks the stock will go to $51. Both targets are above the firm's current stock price of $41.92.