Deutsche Bank: J.C. Penney 'Jingles More Bells,' Maintains At Hold

Paul Trussell of Deutsche Bank commented in a note on Wednesday that he is “pleasantly surprised” by

Holiday sales update announced on Tuesday. Trussell states that November was “a little better than December” at J.C. Penney in terms of comp sales, and online was up double-digits while in-store was positive. The analyst adds that traffic was “likely” slightly negative for the period. Better performing categories consist of home, fine jewelry, Sephora, followed by men's and women's apparel. Kid's and footwear however were negative while cold weather accessories while lingerie, handbags and activewear “did well.” In terms of geographies, Trussell believes that all regions were positive, led by the West and Northeast. As a result of the company's announcement, the analyst raised his price target to $9 from a previous $8 while maintaining a Hold rating due to same-store sales likely slowing in 2015, tough compares ahead and no indication of the company taking steps to monetize real-estate assets in the near –term.