Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, department-store operator J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at J.C. Penney's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

J.C. Penney facts

Headquarters (Founded) Plano, Texas (1902)
Market Cap $5.8 billion
Industry Department stores
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $16.5 billion
Management CEO Ronald Johnson
CFO Kenneth Hannah
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 1.8%
Cash/Debt $839.0 million / $3.1 billion
Competitors Kohl's
Macy's
Sears Holdings

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 29% of the 805 members who have rated J.C. Penney believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier this week, one of those Fools, starz188, highlighted J.C. Penney's most recent quarter as particularly worrisome:

There were heaps of expectations surrounding Ron Johnson as the new CEO, and he brought in some massive, massive overhauls.

So what happened? Total sales fell 20%. Same-store sales fell 19%. Gross margin slid 290 basis points. Dividend now suspended.

Meanwhile, direct competitor Macy's posted a 38% lift in Q1 earnings. They're eating [J.C. Penney's] lunch.
Johnson's plan to get rid of all promotional pricing and set everyday low pricing is an interesting bet, and according to the filing, they're continuing to move ahead with the roll-out. However I don't see investors supporting the vision for too much longer if they continue to post numbers like these.

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