J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) shares surged as much as 6 percent today after Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money posted an article saying investors should jump on them. His article was initially published on The Street’s Real Money blog.
Hedge funds diving in deep on J.C. Penney
One of the first things Cramer notes about the aging retail chain is the fact that numerous major hedge funds are getting in on the trading action. He notes that Perry Capital, Glenview Capital and Hayman Capital have all invested in the company now that activist investor Bill Ackman is dumping his shares. Cramer doesn’t think there are many investors as wise as Kyle Bass and the other heads of these prominent funds, so the purchase of J.C. Penney shares is likely a good one.
Ackman’s out, Ullman’s in
He points out that many investors got in on Ackman’s investment and that Ackman “famously upended the company by ushering in Ron Johnson, who then almost blew the whole thing up.” Then Ackman started criticizing interim CEO Myron Ullman when he took the helm back from Johnson. Cramer felt his criticism was disappointing because he doesn’t think there are many others than Ullman who would have been able to raise the amount of capital the company needs to get through the holiday shopping season.
“The banks trust Mike,” Cramer wrote. “They sure didn’t trust Ackman’s crew.”’
J.C. Penney’s situation just got “interesting”
Cramer says there is now a very “interesting situation brewing” at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). He said there are signs that Ullman is actually bringing back in some of the original shoppers who were driven by coupons. In addition, he thinks that the company has sold off “most of the bad merchandise” and that the housewares department will be in a good place when the holidays roll around. He also said that since Ackman is out of the way, a new CEO might actually want to come in at the retail chain.
Cramer believes all of these reasons could play a role in pushing J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) shares up to $18. He said that essentially all the company needs to raise its stock price $5 a share is a new CEO and a better holiday season.
