JC Penney Strength Attributed to Unconfirmed Rumors

Shares of JC Penney JCP are seeing much intraday strength during Friday's trading session after a couple of different rumors circulated about the Texas-based retailer. In recent months, JC Penney has been under pressure after the company reported first quarter EPS of $(0.25) vs $(0.10) estimates and sales of $3.15 billion vs $3.46 billion estimates. J.C. Penney also discontinued its dividend. JCP's shares lost nearly 20% after the disappointing first-quarter results and dividend suspension. Over the last year, JC Penney has now lost around 22%. Notable hedge fund manager of Pershing Square, Bill Ackman, has been a long time bull, ever since Apple executive Ron Johnson took over at the helm Today's strength has been attributed to two very different rumors. Rumors circulated around message boards saying that JC Penney is looking to announce a partnership with a home shopping channel. The unconfirmed rumors stated that the company was looking to buy 1 hour slots of TV time. The other rumor was made known by notable investor Doug Kass. He tweeted that the rumors he had been hearing were of a new or existing investor was looking to take a major stake or a direct investment in the company. Benzinga reached out to the company for a comment on these rumors; however, JC Penney has not been available to comment. Currently, shares of JC Penney are trading up over 2.25% at $28.01 per share, as US equities across the board trade in the red. The stock is down about 20% on the year. J. C. Penney operates department stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company sells family apparel and footwear, accessories, fine and fashion jewelry, beauty products, and home furnishings. It also provides various services, such as styling salon, optical, portrait photography, and custom decorating.