J.C. Penney: Tomorrow's Headliners

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- J.C. Penney (JCP Quote) is among a small group of companies set to report earnings Friday, with investors hoping for some more clarity on how department stores performed during the last quarter.

J.C. Penney should report a profit of 11 cents a share on sales totaling $4.18 billion, according to a poll of analysts by Thomson Reuters. What J.C. Penney says about the fourth quarter may be more interesting to investors, who have run into disappointment lately.

On Wednesday, Macy's (M Quote) reported a third-quarter adjusted loss of 3 cents a share, better than the consensus target that called for a loss of 7 cents a share. However, Macy's offered downside guidance for the fourth quarter, which pressured shares over the last two trading adys.

In addition to J.C. Penney, Agilent (A Quote) and apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF Quote) will also report quarterly results before the start of trading Friday.

Friday is also the busiest day of the week for economic data, with reports on import and export prices for October, the trade deficit for September, and the University of Michigan's preliminary read on consumer sentiment for November scheduled for release during the session.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in New York.

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