J.C. Penney Stock doubled in one month and director Lisa Payne bought shares

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J.C. Penney

Stocks have been marked by volatility in recent years, but a distressed department store chain manager has become the latest insider to buy shares in the open market.

The stock (ticker: JCP) has rebounded since August 13 (53 cents) and has nearly doubled since the close of trading to reach Friday (97 cents). It now posts a 6.7% loss since the beginning of the year, after falling 67.1% in 2018. This is only slightly behind the
S & P 500
'Increase of 20.0% in 2019.

Several insiders, including CEO Jill Soltau, have bought shares in recent weeks.

Director Lisa Payne paid $ 181,930 on September 6 for 230,000 J.C. Penney shares, for an average price per share of 79 cents. It was the first time that Payne had purchased J.C. Penney's shares in the open market since joining the company's board of directors in 2016.

She now holds 517,890 J.C. Penney shares, mainly acquired through restricted stock units, according to a form she has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

J.C. Penney declined to appoint Payne, retired vice-president and chief financial officer of
Taubman Centers

(TCO), available for comment.

Inside Scoop is a regular feature of Barron that covers stock trading by corporate executives and board members, called "insiders," as well as by major shareholders, politicians, and other personalities. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose their stock trading to the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups..

Write to Ed Lin at [email protected]