William A. Ackman may have severed all ties to J.C. Penney on Monday, after selling off his 18 percent stake at an estimated $473 million loss.
But his rivals in the hedge fund world aren’t bailing out of the troubled retailer just yet.
A review of Penney’s publicly disclosed investors shows that many big investment firms are still betting that the company will manage to pull itself out of its woes, with more than a dozen ranking among the retailer’s 100 biggest shareholders. They include Soros Fund Management, which most recently reported a 9.1 percent stake; Perry Capital, with a 7.3 percent stake; and Glenview Capital Management, with a 3.8 percent stake.
Others within the top 100 are Citadel, SAC Capital, Balyasny Asset Management and Wexford Capital. (Many of the hedge funds’ positions were reported as of June 30, so some of the data could be out of date.)
Let’s not forget Hayman Capital, which reportedly has bought both a big undisclosed equity stake and taken a bullish bet on the retailer’s loans through derivatives.
Some, like Glenview, have pared their holdings of late, while others, like Soros and Perry, have leaped in or added to existing stakes. In any case, they all benefited from an initial pop in Penney’s stock price on Tuesday, though as of midday the shares were up a more modest 1 percent, at $13.50.
