Shares of J.C. Penney (JCPN.Q) are making an astounding recovery today, up nearly 25% after the company released full-year earnings Wednesday evening. While the report was bad and it is still reporting a loss, it wasn't as bad a report as the market had feared, and there may be some signs of recovery.
On Thursday's edition of Stock of the Day, host Mark Reeth and Motley Fool analyst David Hanson examine the turnaround prospects for J.C. Penney. CEO Mike Ullman has said that this is the year the company turns things around, but David tempers expectations by saying that a "turnaround" here all depends on your frame of reference. While it should be able to beat out its abysmal performance from last year, David thinks that for J.C. Penney, the brand strength and customer base it enjoyed 10 years ago are probably gone forever.
That said, could the stock make an interesting value play? David says that while every stock, including J.C. Penney, has a price at which it's a buy, he is still very pessimistic about its prospects and can't see a way for it to turn itself into an interesting long-term buy.
