Opening a New Position

With all of the volatility in the commodity space this year, one stock that's been inexplicably passed over is El Paso (EP:NYSE).

The company is part natural gas exploration and part the largest natural pipeline network in the country. But at $16.19, neither one of these businesses is getting much credit. And neither is CEO Douglas Foshee, who came in and helped save the company in 2003, two years after its energy trading and power generation businesses collapsed.

Well, Foshee stepped in and bought 50,000 shares of El Paso in the open market Wednesday, according to an SEC filing this morning. This is just one more reason to like a stock that already has a lot of catalysts, and I'm going to buy 2,500 shares of El Paso after you receive this Alert.

Earlier this week, the company closed the sale of some of its lower-margin natural gas reserves. The $650 million of proceeds will help pay down debt that El Paso accrued to buy another exploration business, Peoples Energy Production, last fall.

And while the company is probably best known for its pipelines, its E&P division is also firing on all cylinders. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew 92% year over year in the fourth quarter. El Paso generates consistent double-digit revenue growth in this area, and its cash operating costs are declining. About two-thirds of its 2008 production is also hedged between $8 and $10 per million cubic feet.

In addition to taking natural gas out of the ground, the company's core competency is shipping the energy where it needs to go. On this front, El Paso already has firm customer commitments to invest $4 billion to expand its pipeline network. This side of the business is also the foundation for the company's solid cash flow, generating about 60% of total EBIT.

All in all, I expect that El Paso can trade up through $20 over the next several quarters, led by growth in both of its divisions. This purchase gives me an initial 1.2% position in the name, and I will continue to build it up ahead of the upcoming April 16 analyst meeting.

Regards,

Jim Cramer

DISCLOSURE: At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in the stocks mentioned.

Send email to james.cramer@thestreet.com.

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James J. Cramer is a Markets Commentator for TheStreet.com and CNBC, as well as director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. TheStreet.com is a publisher and a registered investment adviser. The Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio (the "Portfolio") contains all of Mr. Cramer's personal investments in publicly-traded equity securities only, and does not include any mutual fund holdings or other institutionally managed assets, private equity investments, or his holdings in TheStreet.com, Inc. In March 2005, these investments were irrevocably conveyed to a Trust, the realized profits from which have been pledged to charity. Mr. Cramer retains full investment discretion with respect to all securities contained in the Trust. Results take into account dividends paid, interest earned on cash, and actual commissions paid. Trades in the Portfolio are generally executed upon receipt of confirmation that the Action Alert email containing the report of such trade has been sent to all Action Alerts PLUS subscribers. Results obtained by subscribers may differ from results obtained by Mr. Cramer for many reasons, including, without limitation: (i) the large size of the Portfolio and the high volume of shares traded by Mr. Cramer tend to reduce the effect of commissions on the overall return of the Portfolio relative to the generally smaller portfolios of subscribers, (ii) the prices of stocks in the Portfolio at the point in time subscribers begin subscribing to Action Alerts PLUS may be higher than such prices at the time of Mr. Cramer's purchases of them, and (iii) subscribers may not have the capital to trade as frequently as Mr. Cramer. Additionally, Mr. Cramer is subject to certain trading restrictions, and must hold all securities in the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio for at least one month, and is not permitted to buy or sell any security he has spoken about on television or on his radio program, for five days following the broadcast.

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