Oct 13 Reuters Shares of Dollar General jumped nearly 8 on Friday, as investors drew confidence from the return of former CEO Todd Vasos to the top job to help steer the retailer away from weakening traffic and margin pressure.

The dollar store chain on Thursday said Vasos will take charge effective immediately, replacing Jeff Owen less than a year after his appointment.

The move is a clear acknowledgment of rising investor concerns about the company39;s future related to a clouded business strategy, choppy execution, consistent earnings misses, and a decline in the share price of about 60 since Owen took over, Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joe Feldman said.

Dollar General has missed profit estimates in all of the past four quarters, struggling to stem a margin squeeze amid a shift in demand to lessprofitable food and consumables, store traffic declines, inventory shrink and competition.

Vasos will be focused on improving instock levels at stores, tidying up store operations, refocusing labor investments and implementing new accounting methods to minimize inventory shrink, J.P. Morgan analysts said, citing a conversation with Vasos.

Razmig Pounardjian, portfolio manager at Carnegie Investment Counsel, said Vasos did an excellent job running Dollar General… I think if there39;s anyone who can turn it around and stabilize the business, it39;s the person that they brought in, and I think the stock market agrees.

Still, some analysts held the view that the return of…