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Cramer's 'Mad Money Recap': Green Stocks Hit Pay Dirt

TheStreet.com Staff

Click here for an archive of Cramer's "Mad Money" recaps.

The tide seems to be turning green, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Monday, which gave him the perfect opportunity to review how his environmentally friendly stocks in his green portfolio performed over the past year.

To celebrate "Green Week" and Earth Day on Tuesday, Cramer said that it pays to go green. "Green has been pantsing the rest of the market," he said.

The stocks in Cramer's green portfolio are up 76.8% over the past year, compared to a negative 5.5% for the S&P 500. "Every single one of my green stocks outperformed the S&P," he said. "I want to review the stocks to go over what worked and what worked less."

In his green portfolio are eight names: Shaw Group (SGR), First Solar (FSLR), MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR), BorgWarner (BWA), Tetra Tech (TTEK), OM Group (OMG), and Fuel-Tech (FTEK) and Foster Wheeler (FWLT), which he also owns for his Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.

Cramer said that green has worked well and will continue to work because of rising oil prices. "We correctly anticipated that oil would be up huge, $125 is still our price target," he said. "It's high oil prices that have driven up everything related to clean energy. This is the trend behind the trend. I don't think it's going away."

First Solar has been the biggest winner, up 367.8% since April 17 of last year. "I have been the strongest backer of this stock out there, and I remain so," he said. "It will be the standard of this country no matter which presidential candidate wins, as it already is the standard in Germany."

This is the most cost effective solar play, Cramer said, as the company doesn't use silicon, which makes it cheaper for First Solar to produce its panels. Cramer said he remains in conviction mode for First Solar. "I think this is to solar what Intel (INTC) was to chips," he added.

Foster Wheeler was another of Cramer's winning green picks, up 97% for the year. The company "was and is my favorite infrastructure play," he said, adding that clean coal is their environmental contribution. Cramer said that the stock is trading way off its high, making it a buying opportunity.

Another strong performer was Shaw Group, as "nuclear is the heart and soul of this one," Cramer said. He added that Wall Street doesn't believe in Shaw Group, and that is a mistake.

While they have been winners for Cramer, he recommended jettisoning BorgWarner, which is too tied up in auto production, and MEMC Electronic Materials, which has had a great run due to high silicon pricing but won't last much longer.

Cramer told viewer Todd in California that he still sees a lot of upside potential for First Solar, and later told caller Bart in Michigan that he is not backing away from the stock despite concern over the rising cost in materials used in First Solar's process.

Caller Melissa in Florida asked if President Bush's greenhouse call on April 16 was a catalyst to buy alternative energy companies, but Cramer told her that until a new president is elected there will not be a legitimate policy on greenhouse gases in place.

What to Do With the Losers

Cramer said that three stocks in the green portfolio have dramatically underperformed the rest of the group, and he wanted to look at where they went wrong. First up was Tetra Tech, a water play that gained just 1.6% over the last year.

"I got this one wrong," Cramer acknowledged, but he added that now "it's actually becoming right. Water will be the next global shortage. When it comes to Tetra Tech, they're the largest player in the sector." Cramer said that Tetra Tech will help the military increase its use of renewable energy and reduce water consumption. "It's entering the environmental sweet spot, and I'd be a buyer."

After a big decline, Cramer said it was time to reload on Fuel-Tech, which is up 8.9% since he recommended the stock a year ago. The stock swings wildly up and down because the company under promises and over delivers, Cramer said.

"Coal has been working, but I think this will do especially well if a Democrat gets in the White House," Cramer noted. Fuel-Tech is a clean coal play as it increases efficiency of coal plants. Companies will be searching out pollution control technologies from Fuel-Tech. "It's just a question of execution," Cramer said.

OM Group suffered from a drop in cobalt prices, Cramer said, even though the stock is up 11.3% since last year. Cramer recommended taking a profit after the stock rebounded, as he wouldn't want exposure to the cobalt market.

Caller Matt in Massachusetts said that water is the new oil, and asked about which company Cramer would look at. "Most of the water plays have been a disaster," he said. "I have not liked the pump group." Cramer suggested ITT Corp. (ITT), which has yet to miss earnings.

Cramer told caller Chris in Georgia that he would stay out of China energy companies such as Suntech Power (STP), LDK Solar (LDK) and Trina Solar (TSL).

"We are not playing with any of these," Cramer said. "We are staying out of China. We're going to keep out of China until we think that market has finally bottomed, and it hasn't."

Know Your IPO

In this segment, Cramer recommended Intrepid Potash, the largest U.S.-based producer of potassium chloride that should come public this week under the ticker IPI.

"I've been recommending this agriculture group for years now, and I think I'll keep recommending it for years," Cramer said, adding that Intrepid Potash is the "next great way to play this theme." Cramer said that the combination of worldwide drought and worldwide famine makes this the theme that just won't quit.

Cramer said he has been behind Potash (POT), Mosaic (MOS), and Agrium (AGU) since Oct. 2005 because "the returns are so good they're scary."

Intrepid Potash will be the first western pure play on potash, Cramer said, and has lower production costs than Potash. "It's an essential part of the agriculture bull market," he said.

Cramer said that If Potash was a hot stock then, Intrepid Potash could be heading higher, but he would not pay more than $34 a share. "I think that Intrepid goes much higher than that, but if you're trying to snap it up in the after market, you need a ceiling."

He recommended trying to pick up the stock at its offering by going through Goldman Sachs (GS), Merrill Lynch (MER), or Morgan Stanley (MS).

"It worked with Visa (V), our last IPO recommendation, we think it'll work again," he said.

Mad Mail

In this segment, Cramer said that the FCC is "pantsing" the Justice Department by delaying an approval of the XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI) deal. "This deal must be approved," Cramer said.

Cramer said that he got it wrong with Google (GOOG) because of wrong third-party data from comScore (SCOR). "I relied on comScore data, and comScore sent me in the wrong direction. I wasn't skeptical enough. I will not do that again. I will not use that data again."

In response to an email asking what to do with Coca-Cola (KO) and Pepsi (PEP), Cramer said to stick with them. "All of the defensive stocks are doing quite poorly. I like to pick up defensive stocks when they're selling," he said.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Caterpillar (CAT), L3 Communications (LLL), Alliant Techsystems (ATK), General Dynamics (GD), Northrup Grumman (NOC), Hasbro (HAS), Tele Norte Leste (TNE), Frontline (FRO), Hess (HES), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Conoco Phillips (COP), Vale de Rio Doce (RIO), BHP Billiton (BHP), Freeport McMoRan (FCX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Hudson City (HCBK).

Cramer was bearish on Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Mattel (MAT), Valero (VLO), Capstead Mortgage (CMO), and Paragon Shipping (PRGN).

Want more Cramer? Check out Jim's rules and commandments for investing by clicking here.

For more of Cramer's insights during the Lightning Round, click here.