Just after close of market on Friday, Nov. 22, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that J.C. Penney would move out of the S&P 500 Index into the S&P MidCap 400, following the close of trading Nov. 29. It will be replaced by Ingersoll Rand’s security spinoff Allegion plc.

“J.C. Penney’s…market capitalizations are now more representative of the mid cap market,” explained an S&P release. The retailer will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Department Stores Sub-Industry Index.

It’s no secret that the department store chain has been struggling to regain its financial footing and raise its profile within the retail marketplace for some time: Much-hyped CEO Ron Johnson resigned in April after a 17-month stint in the top spot; in 2012, the company posted a nearly $1 billion loss; for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, it saw a $586 million net loss.

But there have been a few bright spots. E-commerce sales are up—by more than 25 percent in September compared with the previous year. Fine jewelry, said the company, is one of the categories that’s performing “better than the company average.” And though the chain recently announced a small third-quarter sales decline ($2.78 billion compared with $2.93 billion in 2012), it also saw a 0.9 percent comp store sales gain in October. 

Melissa Rose Bernardo