A high-level official at J.C. Penney inadvertently disclosed nonpublic information regarding the company's comparable-store sales results for the fiscal first quarter of 2015 to a securities analyst via email.
In the email, the official said the company's first quarter same-store sales to date have risen 6 percent, J.C. Penney said.
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J.C. Penney said it expected same-store sales to rise about 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent in the first quarter ending May, adjusting for Easter falling in March this year.
The retailer's stock dropped about 0.75 percent in pre-market trading. (Click here to see where the stock is now.)
—Reuters contributed to this report.