How to Trade Big Lots, Inc. (BIG) Following Earnings Results

How have hedgies been trading Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 18 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a drop of 25% from one quarter earlier. The aggregate value of these funds’ stakes, however, went up to $254.50 million from $236.03 million and represented nearly 11% of Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG)’s outstanding stock.

Among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the most valuable position in Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG), which was valued at $68.5 million at the end of September. On Citadel Investment Group’s heels is AQR Capital Management, led by Cliff Asness, holding a $67.4 million position. Some other professional money managers that hold long positions encompass Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies and Peter Muller’s PDT Partners.

Judging by the fact that Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) registered a decline in the interest among the funds we track, it’s important to point out that several investors closed substantial positions in the company during the third quarter. More specifically, John Tompkins’s Tyvor Capital and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management unloaded their entire positions, that were previously worth $14.1 million and $7 million, respectively.

In addition to that, we should review the hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) in terms of market capitalization. In particular, we will take a look at CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC), Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PBH), Snyder S Lance Inc (NASDAQ:LNCE), and ONE Gas Inc (NYSE:OGS).

As you can see these stocks had an average of 13 hedge funds with long positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $125 million, which is below the same figure in Big Lots’ case. CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE:CLC) is the most popular stock in this table with a total of 15 funds holding shares and Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) registers an even higher level of popularity. Therefore, considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in more detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.