Ullman has said 2014 will be the year Penney completes its turnaround J.C. Penney Co. may be off life support. But questions abound as to whether the mid-priced department store retailer can start to ring up healthy profits and sales growth. On Wednesday, 250 attendees are expected to hear in person from CEO Mike Ullman as he hosts Penney’s JCP, -2.65% first analyst meeting in two years in New York. Ullman has said 2014 will be the year Penney completes its turnaround -- it has posted three quarters of comparable sales gains after a nine-quarter losing streak. Retail Metrics data show Penney lost $2.8 billion over the past 10 quarters following ousted CEO Ron Johnson’s failed 2012 move to remove promotions and popular brands like St. John’s Bay. That was a move that alienated core shoppers. Bloomberg Penney’s outlook appears to be better. Shares have almost doubled since reaching their all-time low of $5 in February. But the stock is still trailing its five-year high of $43 hit in February 2012. Here’s what investors want to learn from its analyst meeting: Store closing plans: Penney said in January it would shut 33 stores. With declining mall traffic and about 1,060 stores in its portfolio, investors want to know if there’s more to come. Sustainable sales growth: Retail Metrics is forecasting that Penney’s third-quarter same-store sales will rise 5.3%, following a 4.8% drop a year earlier. “The primary goal of the analyst day needs to focus on convincing the market of a (long-term) sustainable top-line strategy,” said UBS analyst Michael Binetti, who said Penney has lost $5.9 billion in sales since 2010. Penney also needs to show how it can better compete against the likes of Macy’sM, -1.97% and Kohl’s KSS, -2.94% Gross margin: Can the retailer lift sales without sacrificing profit in the future? Penney’s second-quarter gross margin widened by 6.4 percentage points to 36% from a year earlier as it lowered clearance sales. Retail Metrics data shows that analysts expect the company to return to profit in the fourth quarter, following 11 straight losses. “Better in-store assortment and controlled markdowns should make (gross margin) the least volatile variable,” said Morgan Stanley’s Kimberly Greenberger. Free cash flow: Penney posted second-quarter free cash flow of $76 million, a $1.2 billion improvement from negative cash flow last year. Analysts are keen to hear whether cash flow will continue to increase and whether Penney will use any extra cash to pay down debt or for another use. link