J.C. Penney CEO purchases more of chain’s stock
J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison has been a buyer of the company’s stock and just made another purchase Friday as the stock has traded at historically low levels.
Ellison disclosed in a filing that he bought 100,000 additional shares on Friday at an average price of $3.48 a share. He now owns 2,852,280 shares of Penney. Last year, Ellison spent $1 million to buy Penney shares in two transactions. Penney’s stock price has slid more than 50 percent so far this year and closed up 2 cents at $3.60 a share on Friday.
The retailer has struggled to increase sales and just completed a quarter in which store closings had a bigger impact on margins than expected.
Ellison took over as CEO in August 2015. He’s moved Penney into the kitchen and laundry appliance business and other home categories. He’s made the company’s online business a focus, made changes in women’s apparel and upgraded Penney’s loyalty program.
The company has paid down debt and cut costs. Penney also just closed 127 stores in July. Penney has about 875 stores left.
“While broader retail remains challenged, we are encouraged by the improved performance in our total apparel business,” Ellison said earlier this month.
Ellison also said he wasn’t concerned about Amazon’s plans to sell Kenmore appliances on its site, a deal Sears announced last month. He said Penney customers want to “physically touch” appliances before making the pricey purchases.