JC Penney Reports Soft Quarter

Piper Jaffray has published a research report on JC Penney Company JCP after the company reported a soft quarter, but still is managing to stay within the estimated guidance range. In the report, Piper Jaffray writes "October results were softer than expected, given more difficult weather comparisons, but September results exceeded company expectations and thus likely support EPS in the range of guidance between $.16 to $.20/shr. We are tweaking our EPS estimate up a penny to $.17/shr in FQ3, but note further upside to our est will likely come from SG&A management. We are increasing our multiple on shares from 12x to 13x given the potential financial and operating leverage in the model, but remain concerned about consistent share gains and the moderate income consumer." Piper Jaffray maintains its Neutral rating and has raised the price target from $22 to $29. JC Penney Company closed yesterday at $32.32.