The next highest is Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) with 44, followed by Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) and Costco, both in the upper-30s. The remaining members of the "unfortunate quintet" described above all sport an average of just 26 hedge funds invested. Equally as important, it's worth mentioning that the quality of hedgies devoted to Wal-Mart is top-notch; mega-managers Warren Buffett ( see Buffett's top picks ), Ken Griffin, Jim Simons and Israel Englander, to name a few, all hold long positions. Prem Watsa and Ray Dalio are also bullish. Despite the fact that on the whole, the retailer experienced hedge fund capital flight in the fourth quarter, there are reasons to be optimistic about Wal-Mart's future because of how this data favorably stacks up against its key peers.