JCPenney’s shaky finances are attracting attention from the SEC.
The struggling retailer disclosed late Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has requested information on its “liquidity, cash position, and debt and equity financing.”
The SEC is also probing the retailer’s Sept. 26 stock offering that raised $810 million in cash in a bid to ease concerns about its liquidity, according to a Penney regulatory filing.
In September, Penney brass, including CEO Mike Ullman, came under fire for allegedly telling a group of investors a day earlier that no plan for a stock offering was in the works.
Penney officials later said that Ullman’s words had been misinterpreted by investors.
Penney said in the Thursday filing it is cooperating with the probe.
Separately Thursday, Penney shares got clobbered after Dallas hedge-fund honcho Kyle Bass said he has liquidated his entire JCPenney stock holdings.
Bass’s fund Hayman Capital in September disclosed a stake of more than 5 percent that it appeared to have bought at significantly higher prices.
Bass, who told Bloomberg of his Penney stock disposal on Thursday, said he still owns debt in the struggling department store chain.
Shares of Penney on Thursday tumbled on the news, falling 81 cents, or 8.4 percent, to $8.84.
The beleaguered retailer’s stock was likewise pummeled yesterday by a downbeat research note from Wells Fargo that questioned whether it could repair damage done by the disastrous strategies of former CEO Ron Johnson.
“We believe J.C. Penney has been burned by the effects of an unsuccessful turnaround strategy, which has created a hole that is likely too deep.”
Analysts have remained sour despite Penney’s report earlier this week that its November comparable store sales rose 10 percent.