Is J.C. Penney Staging A Comeback?

(Photo Credit: Sam Howzit)

J.C. Penney, a retailer many have rendered hopeless in last few years, is scheduled to release fourth quarter results after today’s closing bell, and it looks like they may have been able to turn things around during the holiday season. Estimize contributors are expecting the company to post earnings per share of $0.13, one penny higher than the Wall Street consensus. This would be the first positive EPS result in two years. The Estimize consensus for revenues is currently at $3.86B, slightly lower than the Street’s estimate of $3.88B, representing growth of 2.1% over the year-ago period.

 

The struggling retailer reported decent same store sales growth of 3.7% during the holiday period, and said it expects fourth quarter same store sales to come in the high end of its 2% - 4% guidance. One area J.C. Penney is trying to breathe life back into is their home category. This will be one focus of tonight’s call, as analysts look for signs that the home category is starting to return to historical sales levels. As 2015 continues, investor’s will want confirmation that a string of recently announced strategic changes, such as appointing a new CEO and bringing back print catalogs, is enough to keep the momentum going.