NEW YORK -- J.C. Penney Co.'s (NYSE:JCP) debt ratings were cut to junk status on Wednesday by Fitch, which said the No. 5 U.S. retailer suffers from persistent operating weakness in its department stores and Eckerd drugstores. Fitch cut Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney's long-term debt ratings one notch to "BB-plus," its highest junk grade, from "BBB-minus," and its commercial paper, or short-term debt, rating one notch to "B" from "F3." Its rating outlook remains negative, and its ratings affect about $5.4 billion of debt. The credit rating agency said Penney's department stores "have struggled to gain sales traction in the increasingly competitive middle market" while Eckerd's profitability "has been hampered by poor execution and pressure from managed care in its growing drugstore operations."