UPDATE: Sterne Agee Downgrades J.C. Penney on Multiple Negative Factors

In a report published Tuesday, Sterne Agee analyst Charles Grom downgraded the rating on J.C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) from Buy to Neutral, and lowered the price target from $18.00 to $9.00.

In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “While we always framed the JCP call as ‘not for the faint of heart,' the combination of: (1) uninspiring observations from our recent store checks, (2) today's more challenging apparel/retail backdrop, and most important, (3) our fears that the former CEO Ron Johnson may have permanently ‘fired' JCP's core customer, lead us to downgrade to Neutral. Net, while we tried to fade consensus, recent developments leave us less comfortable sticking our necks out.”

J.C. Penney Company closed on Monday at $7.71.