Cramer Remix: High end stocks worth picking up ·CNBC
Abigail Stevenson
Updated
With major averages closing in the red on Tuesday, Jim Cramer reminded investors to think of the stock market like a card game and play the hand they have been dealt. As bad as it is out there, you cannot throw it back and give up. The trick is to look at the cards and figure out how to make something work.
"Today's action represents attempts by several different card players to augment their hands in this new environment where most stocks go down anyway," the "Mad Money" host said. (Tweet This)
The problem right now is that Cramer sees two different groups of investors playing their cards. The first group has resigned itself that the Fed will be raising rates. This group just took their cards and threw them back with the reasoning that if the Fed is going to tighten and the global economy weakens—then it is time to get rid of everything.
The other card players are the ones that recognize they have a not-so-hot diversified hand. They think about the stocks they can throw back into the pile, and look for better ones. This group will tend to toss out industrials, oils and anything connected to machinery.
The key is that this group does not leave the table. They use the weakness caused by investors selling everything in order to pick up high-quality stocks. What are the high-quality stocks to look for in a slowdown?
"How about the companies that can outrun a slowdown, especially one that is exacerbated by the Fed tightening when it is obvious that, despite the strong employment numbers, things are looking real bad in many other areas of the economy," Cramer said.
With crude prices threatening to go into complete free fall and Kinder Morgan butchering its dividend, Jim Cramer decided to take a closer look at what could be next for the oil business.
Could it be possible that Wall Street has become too negative on this group?
To find out, Cramer turned to the help of Suz Smith, a technician, portfolio manager at Milestone Wealth Strategies, co-founder of ExplosiveOptions.net and colleague of Cramer's at RealMoney.com.
Smith made a very bold contrarian call on oil. She thinks sentiment surrounding crude has become so negative that some stocks could rally from here.
However, Smith did not say that means to rush out and start stockpiling oil stocks. She did not say that investors should buy a full position right now in the major integrated stocks. But she does believe that the negativity is overdone in the sector.
"That is why Smith thinks you need to view this moment of panic as an opportunity to gradually buy high quality oil stocks into weakness," Cramer said.
Pipeline master limited partnerships (MLPs) are another group that has been totally annihilated with the falling price of crude. However, some of those MLPs found their footing on Tuesday. One of those companies was EnLink Midstream Partners, which roared on the news that its general partner EnLink Midstream LLC, announced plans to acquire Tall Oak Midstream.
Cramer finds that the action in the pipeline space tends to be unfair, because the stocks trade together in lockstep even though many of them are in better shape than some of the troubled companies. EnLink has seen its stock fall more than 54 percent year-to-date, and Cramer thinks that a lot of the selling was undeserved.
To hear more about what could be in the pipeline of the future, Cramer spoke with EnLink Midstream's CEO Barry Davis.
"We have three growth areas today that are going to grow, we believe, in any environment. In fact the Permian Basin, the Delaware, the Northern Midland Basin and in Central Oklahoma with the Tall Oak assets, and then in Louisiana which is primarily a demand-driven system. We're serving in-use customers. We believe those three areas are going to continue to grow in all economic or commodity environments," Davis said.
Despite all of the negativity in the market on Tuesday, Cramer saw great deals being made that were either happening or in the works.
"These deals are occurring with under-appreciated companies that are nevertheless doing well, companies like Keurig (NASDAQ: GMCR) and Jarden (NYSE: JAH) and Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL)," the "Mad Money" host said.
JAB, the family of European multi-billionaires that seeks to challenge Nestle, announced on Monday that it was buying Keurig Green Mountain for $14 billion. Cramer thought this was a perfect example of how undervalued companies in the market are being pulled down by worries of plunging commodities and an interest rate hike.
What do these three companies have in common? They produce things found in the home.
"I think both deals are fabulous for shareholders. All three of the executives involved should be applauded. They didn't have to do these deals. Their stocks could ultimately have worked their way higher because of superior performance," Cramer said.
With the Fed poised to raise interest rates later this month, Cramer thinks it is time to reassess certain groups of stocks. When the Fed tightens, that will make high-yielding bond market alternative plays less attractive, because bonds and certificates of deposit will offer yield competition.
One of those groups of stocks are the real estate investment trusts (REITs), which seem to be performing better than many realize. Federal Realty Investment Trust owns 103 shopping center properties, mostly in wealthy and densely populated areas spanning the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, California, Florida and Texas.
And at a time when retail is struggling, Federal Realty has been performing pretty well with its stock down just six points from all-time highs. To learn more about the strength behind the company, Cramer spoke with its CEO Don Wood.
"We try to be diversified as we can in all ways, so in the quiver back here we've got arrows that we can pull out for lots of different things. The best that we have these days is a balance sheet that is strong as can be … We are one of three maybe four A rated companies, and that is really important at times like this," Wood said.
In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:
Hasbro Inc: "I have been favoring Mattel over Hasbro. I think that Hasbro had too much "Star Wars" hype. You might get a little reversal here, but I do like Mattel more."
Raytheon Co: "I think that Raytheon is one of the best of the military plays. It is the one that is seeing the best orders for the Middle East and from Europe."
