Cramer Remix: Selling this stock is totally unfair
Cramer Remix: Selling this stock is totally unfair ·CNBC
Abigail Stevenson
Updated
Thursday might have been a lousy day on the markets, but Jim Cramer said that does not mean investors should forget about all of the tremendous moves that occurred this week.
In the middle of the terrific rally on Wednesday that was triggered by the Fed announcing it would raise rates, four very important stocks quietly made their way higher. These stocks did not rally because of the Fed—they did it all on their own.
"I think that action tells you not just what companies are doing well, but also what the market loves, which is very important to know on a day like today when it seems like the sellers have come back in droves to take profits on everything," said the "Mad Money" host.
Stocks of General Electric (NYSE: GE), Honeywell (NYSE: HON), CVS (NYSE: CVS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) all flew higher Wednesday because of commentary from company management—not just because they were relying on the crutch of the Fed euphoria.
Another stock that was on Cramer's radar was Costco, which he thought was sold unfairly. In fact, he commented that he would like to buy more of the stock for his charitable trust.
But just because the Federal Reserve has tightened, doesn't mean Cramer thinks caution should not be thrown to the wind.
"Sure, the market can go higher, but you have to be more skeptical of upward moves when money costs more, the true interpretation of a Fed rate increase," the "Mad Money" host said.
Marty Zweig was one of the great titans of the financial industry that inspired Cramer, and millions of other people. Cramer credits Zweig's work for inspiring him to join Wall Street and make money.
That was why Cramer was more wary of the market containing its losses on Thursday, and he believes history is on his side. "It's a sucker's bet to wager against history," Cramer added. (Tweet This)
Another principal that Cramer described is to be flexible and non-dogmatic. He did not want investors to leave the market when the Fed started raising rates—he just wanted them to be less positive.
"So now I'm less positive. I can't help it. Marty made me too much money with that philosophy and I can't go against it," Cramer said.
For those investors that are worried about the state of the economy because business appears to have slowed in almost every sector, Cramer thinks a high quality utility stock could be a good idea.
Utility stocks are almost uniformly high-yielding dividend stocks that compete with the return of bonds, and in a world with the Fed taking its time to tighten this could give a chance for utilities to thrive.
Consolidated Edison is the regulated provider of power and natural gas in the New York metro area, along with parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
With its bountiful 4 percent yield, Cramer thinks it could be an attractive option. To learn more, he spoke with Con Ed's chairman and CEDO John McAvoy.
"One of the things that makes our service story so attractive is the vitality of the New York economy. Historically it has been related to financial services. Not anymore—the New York economy is so diverse … put them all together and we have a really strong base that we are working with," McAvoy said.
With the Federal Reserve finally making the decision to tighten, Jim Cramer has been focused on stocks that that the market will still love in a tougher environment.
The best way to avoid any blow to the market is to diversify holdings. A portfolio that consists of different kinds of investments should typically yield higher returns, and have lower risk than those that have the same types of investments.
So in order to ensure that the players at home understand the importance of diversification, Cramer played a game called "Am I Diversified?" with callers on the show who provide their top five holdings and Cramer provides his feedback.
One pattern that Cramer noticed with all of the portfolios was the prevalence of Apple. It seemed that the stock has now become a core position for many investors, and was a position in all of the callers inquiring with Cramer.
"A lot of people like Apple. And maybe some people would say too many people like it. But I say you just hold it. Not doing well today, and hasn't done well for a while. But I think it's a great value," Cramer said.
The weather this winter has taken a hard toll on the retail industry, because shoppers do not want to buy winter clothing when it is a week before Christmas and the temperature on the East coast is warmer than ever.
Ascena Retail Group is the parent company of Dress Barn, Justice, Maurice's and Lane Bryant. It also acquired Ann Taylor over the summer in what was supposed to be a transformational deal. Unfortunately investors have been fleeing from the stock.
However with the stock down 22 percent year-to-date, Cramer wondered if it is already reflecting most of the negativity but not of the potential for improvement. To hear more, he spoke with Ascena's CEO David Jaffe.
"For Ascena we saw a lot of sweaters and per the industry at large this is the time we are selling cold weather, because it is supposed to be cold, Jim… So no question that this category, cold weather gear, has been impacted. So you are going to see a lot of great deals," Jaffe said.
In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:
SunTrust Bank: "SunTrust is fine....I think you're fine. Don't expect anything to happen instantly because the market is a little funky. But that's a good place to be."
Syngenta AG: "I don't want you in that. I mean Dow Chemical is now 3 points below where it announced the bid. This is insane! I think at $48 you pull the trigger and buy that one."
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