$9 Billion Hedge Fund Eton Park’s Top Stock Picks Include eBay

Nielsen Hldg NV (NYSE:NLSN) was another of the fund’s top stock picks as it reported a position of 8 million shares. Nielsen’s net margins were low in 2012, resulting in a fairly high trailing earnings multiple. The sell-side consensus agrees with the market that earnings are likely to rise, with analyst estimates implying a forward P/E of only 14. That seems like a aggressive earnings target to us. Bain Capital’s Brookside Capital initiated a position of 3.4 million shares between October and December (research more stocks Brookside Capital was buying).

Mindich and his team also liked eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), owning 4 million shares at the beginning of January. SAC Capital Advisors, managed by billionaire Steve Cohen, was buying eBay last quarter and closed December with a total of 4.6 million shares (find Cohen’s favorite stocks). eBay trades at 17 times forward earnings estimates, with earnings growth expected to come from both its e-commerce auction business and its payment operations (which include Paypal). Revenue was up 18% in the fourth quarter of 2012 versus a year earlier.

The 13F reported that Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) had joined Dollar General among Eton Park’s top stock picks as the fund bought 4.5 million shares. Dollar Tree has also been reporting good financials, though its earnings growth has been based more on improving net margins than Dollar General’s more broadly based improvement. The stock carries trailing and current-fiscal-year P/E multiples of 18 and 14, respectively. Tiger Cub John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital was another major Dollar Tree shareholder as of the end of December.

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stock mentioned in this article.