Shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) popped 10% on a report from CNBC that the company is looking for a permanent CEO to replace Mike Ullman, who was brought back in April after the company’s board fired Ron Johnson. Ullman’s strategic plan for the company included a return to its sales and promotions roots, a direction widely hailed by analysts.
The strategy that Ullman planned to follow worked very well for the company in the years between 2006 and 2009. But during Ullman’s tenure at the top of Penney’s, shares lost an average of 2% a year — far better than during Johnson’s term, but still nothing to celebrate. Perhaps Penney’s board finally woke up to that fact.
We noted earlier that Penney’s stock was far more likely to fall further after posting a new 52-week low on Wednesday, and we see no reason to change our mind, even if the CNBC story turns out to be true. Assuming that the company hasn’t already selected someone, it will take the board at least a few months to hire a permanent CEO and even then there doesn’t not appear to be an awful lot the company can do except get smaller by closing stores and selling real estate.
Shares are up 6.9% shortly after noon on Thursday, at $13.65 in a 52-week range of $12.50 to $32.55.
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