Piper Jaffray Remains Neutral On J.C. Penney (JCP)

In a company note released today by Piper Jaffray, the firm said that they are incrementally encouraged by J.C. Penney's JCP fiscal Q1 results, as same-store-sales turned positive for the first time in 10 quarters, generating adjusted EPS growth of 18%. However, they are lowering their earnings multiple estimates from 15x to 13x because they have not yet seen share gains at the retailer. Piper Jaffray reiterated their Neutral rating on the JCP, with a price target of $33 based on 13x FY12E adjusted EPS of $2.53. During today's trading session, JCP has fallen 1.89% to $27.04.