L Brands Inc.’s stock tumbled to a four-year low Tuesday, after Citigroup downgraded the apparel retailer on concerns over a glut of stores at a difficult time for the retail industry. Analyst Paul Lejuez said he cut his rating to neutral, because he was figuratively “losing sleep” about rating the stock a buy. He slashed his stock price target to $49, which is about 9% below current levels, from $70. “Sometimes it just comes down to one simple thing. And in this case, it’s too many stores–compounded by negative traffic trends that only seem to be getting worse,” Lejuez wrote in a note to clients. He said the acceleration in store closings in and around malls, including those by Macy’s Inc. , J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. , the “pressure points” created for retailers are clearance sales to pull traffic away from existing rivals and longer-term pressure on traffic in the malls. L Brands’ stock, which fell 3.1% to the lowest level seen since March 28, 2013 in midday trade, has tumbled 33% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has shed 5.8% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.
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