Analysts Conflicted on These Services Names: Crossamerica Partners (CAPL) and JC Penney (JCP)


Companies in the Services sector have received a lot of coverage today as analysts weigh in on Crossamerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) and JC Penney (NYSE:JCP).

Crossamerica Partners (CAPL)

B.Riley FBR analyst Robert Balsamo reiterated a Buy rating on Crossamerica Partners yesterday and set a price target of $25. The company’s shares opened today at $17.98.

Balsamo said:

“We are updating our estimates for CrossAmerica Partners LP post 2Q18 earnings and release of 10-Q filings. We are reiterating our Buy rating and our PT of $25. Our biggest takeaway from the call was the strong messaging from management regarding a transaction in the works between the partnership and its sponsor. Management reiterated its commitment to growing the partnership through acquisitions and synergies in conjunction with its general partner. Despite the current valuation of CAPL units, we believe the partnership can accretively execute transactions with its sponsor. Possible structures include asset swaps or preferred equity, which could be issued publicly or directly to the sponsor. The announcement/execution of a material transaction could provide a strong catalyst for the units.”

According to TipRanks.com, Balsamo ‘s ranking currently consits of no stars on a 0-5 ranking scale, with an average return of -7.4% and a 44.3% success rate. Balsamo covers the Basic Materials sector, focusing on stocks such as EnLink Midstream Partners, EnLink Midstream LLC, and Sprague Resources.

Crossamerica Partners has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $22.67.

See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>

JC Penney (JCP)

Guggenheim analyst Robert Drbul maintained a Hold rating on JC Penney today. The company’s shares opened today at $1.95, close to its 52-week low of $1.75.

Drbul observed:

“We maintain our NEUTRAL rating as we we believe the challenges in the business are appropriately reflected in the shares today. Total sales declined 7.5% and increased 0.3% on a comp basis. The nearly eight point spread between sales and the comp was driven by the 141 store closures in 2017 (closed late in 2Q17). The comp was driven by UPT, while AUR was ~flat in the quarter. The top performing regions were the Northwest, while the Southwest and Northeast underperformed. Importantly, the company experienced a turn in the Women’s apparel, which has been a major focus for the company. Stores drove positive comps (first time in two years), while e-commerce was negative in the quarter. We are updating our top-line estimates and now expect comps to be flat in FY18 (from +0.5%). Finally, we would note July comps were up MSD%.”

According to TipRanks.com, Drbul is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 16.8% and a 75.6% success rate. Drbul covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as National Vision Holdings Inc, Lululemon Athletica Inc, and Ascena Retail Group.

JC Penney has an analyst consensus of Hold, with a price target consensus of $3.

TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.

Stay Ahead of Everyone Else

Get The Latest Stock News Alerts