J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) Trends: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, Citigroup Inc. (C), Jim Cramer & More

Editor’s Note: J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)

Bill Ackman takes huge loss on J.C. Penney (CNNMoney)
Activist investor Bill Ackman is cutting his losses in J.C. Penney. The hedge fund manager sold his entire stake in the troubled retailer. Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management began buying J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) in October 2010 when shares were around $25 a piece. The hedge fund said it sold all 39 million of its shares to Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), which is now offering the shares at $12.90 each. That puts Ackman’s loss at nearly $500 million. The sale was disclosed by J.C. Penney Monday in a regulatory filing with the SEC and in statements from Pershing Square.

Pershing Hires Citigroup to Sell Entire J.C. Penney Stake (Bloomberg)
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP hired Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) to underwrite the sale of its 39.1 million J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) shares, after reaching an agreement earlier this month to unload its stake. The department-store chain today filed a prospectus for the shares that account for about 18 percent of its stock and make Pershing its largest investor. Under the registration agreement filed on Aug. 16, the hedge fund can start selling blocks of the stock four times a year.

Cramer: Three Reasons to Buy JCPenney (TheStreet.com)
Yes, I would buy some J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) on the deal. Here’s why: first, they have the money to get through Christmas season.We know that. Second who is to say that Mike Ullman can’t restore some of the luster that was lost, I mean people did shop at JCPenney. Third, if you haven’t sold it by now, you probably don’t care anymore. Finally, hedge fund manager William Ackman was a huge distraction and now the distraction is gone.

A ‘Penney’ for your thoughts (CNBC)

Ackman to raise up to $504.4M from Penney stake (Bryan-College Station Eagle)
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)’s biggest investor, William Ackman, plans to raise up to about $504.4 million from the sale of his entire stake in the struggling department store operator. Pershing Square Capital Management’s Ackman disclosed in a regulatory filing late Monday that he was going to sell his nearly 18 percent interest _ or 39.1 million shares _ in the Plano, Texas, company. On Tuesday, Ackman said that the shares will be priced at $12.90 each, about 3 percent below Monday’s $13.35 closing price. The stock quickly declined 45 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $12.90 in premarket trading Tuesday.