JCPenney’s CFO is latest exec to fly the coop

JCPenney’s senior ranks are becoming threadbare.

The struggling department store company just lost Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Davis — whose departure comes on the heels of Chief Executive Marvin Ellison’s abrupt move in May for the top job at Lowe’s.

Shares of JCPenney sank 7 cents on Friday, to $1.66.

Davis is the third top JCP exec to depart this year. Ellison poached Penney Chief Customer Officer Joe McFarland to join him at Lowe’s.

McFarland and Davis were half of the “Office of the CEO” leading Penney after Ellison left.

“The company had very little stability, and now it has even less,” said Kathy Gersch, a former Nordstrom executive who is a vice president at consulting firm Kotter International.

“They have not had a clear direction, which makes it difficult to recruit and hire a new leader,” Gersch said.

Davis left JCP to become CFO at Qurate Retail Group, which owns QVC, HSN Zuiily and other brands.

“I have every confidence that JCPenney has the experience and determination to persevere and strengthen its position as one of America’s leading retailers,” Davis said in a statement.

Penney has been struggling to lift sales at its 860 stores. Its shares are down 50 percent this year as the Plano, Texas, company tries to turn around its women’s apparel business and attract new shoppers with a new assortment of appliances, including dishwashers, refrigerators and dryers.

The company named Senior Vice President of Finance Jerry Murray interim CFO.

Murray will receive a $400,000 salary, plus a $15,000-a-month retention stipend, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.