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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Reaping the Benefits of High Oil Prices

TheStreet.com Staff

06/18/08 - 07:41 PM EDT

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

"There are companies that can benefit from higher oil prices," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Wednesday. "But they're not who you might think."

Cramer posed the question: "Why is it that while oil has risen from $100 to $130 a barrel, the large integrated oil companies have barely moved?"

While oil prices have jumped 30%, Cramer noted that shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote) rose only 1%. BP (BP Quote) was up only 2.4% and Marathon Oil (MRO Quote) was up only 1.6%.

Cramer says big oil just cannot take advantage of the higher oil prices because they either just can't drill for enough oil, or they expected oil prices to retreat and hedged their bets. Some signed contracts with foreign governments that backfired.

That hasn't been the case, he emphasized, with oil stocks that have natural gas exposure.

Once again proclaiming 2008 the year of natural gas, he provided a laundry list of stocks which are now up an average of 33.8%.

They include XTO Energy (XTO Quote), Southwestern Energy (SWN Quote) and El Paso (EP Quote). Cramer owns all these stocks for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS.

He also recommended Ultra Petroleum (UPL Quote), Apache (APA Quote), Anadarko (APC Quote) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK Quote).

Cramer said all of these companies share a common theme: They are constantly on the move, acquiring assets and drilling for more and more oil and natural gas.

Cramer noted that typically, the ratio between oil and gas is 6:1. Using that historic ratio, natural gas could go as high as $23, but Cramer is sticking to his earlier estimates of just $16 for the commodity.

Cramer: The Two Food Stocks to Own

Switching gears, Cramer also recommended what he called the "twice blessed" fertilizer stocks, which are benefiting from both a worldwide food shortage and increased demand for ethanol production.

He noted Mosaic (MOS Quote), Agrium (AGU Quote) and Potash (POT Quote) as continued strong buys.

He told viewers these are names he has recommended repeatly as the ones to stick with. Since he first recommended these names on Oct. 31, 2005, Mosaic is up 1120%, Agrium up 419%, and Potash up 773%.

Where the Analysts Are Wrong

"How does a great old brand reinvent itself to trounce its competition?" Cramer asked his viewers.

Stockpickr

He welcomed Paul Varga, president and CEO of Brown-Forman (BFB Quote), to the show to talk about what happened.

According to Cramer, Brown-Forman has dominated the liquor market, with its stock up 7% this year, compared to Diageo (DEO Quote), down 12%, Constellation (STZ Quote), down 15%, and Fortune Brands (FO Quote), down 21%.

Cramer, a long-time supporter of Brown-Forman, first recommended the stock on Aug. 30, 2005 at $57.41 a share. Since then, shares of Forman are up 33%, and up 5.3% since a more recent recommendation on May 13 of this year.

But with the stock now just below the most recent blessing on June 6, Cramer went to Varga for answers.

Varga explained that while the market has seen some abandonment of premium brands for lesser expensive alternatives, he feels the analysts are overestimating its impact and underestimating the growth for Brown-Forman overseas.

He said Brown-Forman has been focused on extensive branding for its products, which has helped to separatetheir brands from all others. "People ask for Jack Daniels by name now," he said.

Varga also said Brown-Forman continues to look for and acquire strong brands when the opportunities arise. Cramer reiterated his support for Forman, stating that the international side of their business just hasn't been taken fully into account and he sees multiple years of growth for the company.

Am I Diversified?

Cramer evaluated the portfolios of callers in this segment. The first caller's portfolio included Agrium (AGU Quote), Potash (POT Quote), Apple (AAPL Quote), Caterpillar (CAT Quote) and Sohu.com (SOHU Quote).

Cramer identified two of a kind with Potash and Agrium and recommended selling Agrium and adding a healthcare of defense stock to the portfolio.

The second caller's top holdings included JC Penney (JCP Quote), Dow Chemical (DOW Quote), Disney (DIS Quote), EnerSys (ENS Quote) and Foster Wheeler (FWLT Quote).

Cramer called this portfolio "completely and totally diversified."

The third caller had McDonald's (MCD Quote), Transocean (RIG Quote), Waste Management (WMI Quote), CVS Caremark (CVS Quote) and Caterpillar (CAT Quote) as their top five stocks.

Cramer liked all of the companies, calling this portfolio "the best of them all."

Mad Mail

In this segment, Cramer reiterated his buy on Baldor Electric (BEZ Quote) as a great electric motor and "new tech" company.

Cramer told a second viewer that Costco's (COST Quote) recent decision to add 10% ethanol to the gasoline it sells should not impact the company's earnings.

Sudden Death

Cramer was bullish on Pepsico (PEP Quote), Denbury Resources Inc (DNR Quote), Wells Fargo (WFC Quote), US Bancorp (USB Quote) and Motorola (MOT Quote).

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Praxair (PX Quote), Airgas (ARG Quote), Air Products and Chemicals (APD Quote), Black & Decker (BDK Quote), A-Power Energy (APWR Quote), Procter & Gamble (PG Quote) and YRC Worldwide (YRCW Quote).

He was bearish on Kimberly-Clark (KMB Quote), Garmin (GRMN Quote) and Sterlite Industries (SLT Quote).

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.

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