Cramer on Top-Searched Stocks: Altria

Altria and Wachovia are among the most-searched stocks on <I>TheStreet.com</I>. Here's what Cramer had to say about them recently.
By Stockpickr Staff ,

Updated from 7:09 a.m. EDT

The market pulled back on Tuesday after the Labor Department reported that wholesale inflation edged up by 0.2% in April following a 1.1% jump in March. Meanwhile, outside of food and energy, prices rose by a faster-than-expected 0.4%. This was double what most analysts had expected.

Such high prices may indicate an inevitable pullback in consumer spending. Chain-store sales fell 0.4% during the week of May 17, down from 1% the previous week, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities.

Home Depot

(HD) - Get Report

also made the headlines. It reported that first-quarter profit fell 66% because of the continuing housing slump. Earlier in the month, Home Depot said it is closing 15 stores and removing 50 more from its new-store openings.

Meanwhile, office supply retailer

Staples

(SPLS)

said Tuesday that its net income rose to $212.3 million, or 30 cents per share, in the three months ended May 3. That compares with a profit of $209.1 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier. A slowing U.S. economy could hurt the retailer's 2,000 North American stores.

With all of this news out there, we thought we'd take a look at Tuesday's top 10 most-searched stocks on

TheStreet.com

and find out what

Jim Cramer's take has recently been on them

.

These stocks could be in the news for a number of reasons. Some require immediate attention; others may not. Regardless, it never hurts to hear what Cramer (or any of the other professional investors on the site) has to say about them. The key is to gather as much information as you can to make the best-informed investment decisions you can.

Despite the hammering of

DryShips

(DRYS) - Get Report

and

Amkor Technology

(AMKR) - Get Report

on heavy volume on Tuesday, we'll kick it off today with

Altria Group

(MO) - Get Report

.

In

a recent post on his RealMoney.com blog

, Cramer pointed out that Altria's split means something for everyone:

People are just now beginning to warm to the split of Altria, and it's about time. Both companies are kicking butt in a declining market, with the domestic company, Altria, raising price and taking share -- neither of which is in the numbers -- and Philip Morris International (PMI) just consistently growing in emerging market areas. Both companies have the potential for gigantic buybacks as a way to reward shareholders, and the dividend on MO can be increased very easily, as there was a lot of money just sitting in the bank because of no more litigation risk. We just got a new wrinkle to the Altria story that's not in the numbers: the joint venture of SABMiller with Coors (TAP) - Get Report, which Advertising Age features in this morning's front-page story. This is a great one, one where the market share gains are staggering in a stagnant industry. Coors Light is up 5.4% and Coors Banquet is up 6% even as Miller is down. However, when the joint venture gets integrated, I think you will see more marketing muscle and higher share for both companies. Either way, you have to recognize that the initial selling is now over and the two stocks are getting more and more sponsorships after some initial downgrades, as people thought the story was played out. I own them both for Action Alerts PLUS and can't see why you wouldn't want to own at least one of these two key names, the growth-oriented PMI or the stable, value play of MO. Something for everybody.

Next on the list is

Wachovia

(WB) - Get Report

.

In

another recent blog post

, Cramer broke down the situation at the North Carolina-based bank:

Remember when Wachovia was a respected, conservative institution? When it was a classic good regional bank that could always be counted on to deliver the numbers and be good to its clients and shareholders? What is this Wachovia? Where did this Wachovia come from? How could Wachovia lose $1 billion of its entrusted funds in a highly levered Citigroup (C) - Get Report hedge fund called Falcon? How did it allow itself to be lulled into this kind of madness? Or California. How did Wachovia get beaten over the head so badly in this Golden West transaction? Did it just take the Sandlers' -- the old owners -- words for it that the loans were good? Did the company do any due diligence about the Golden West pick-a-way-to-pay plan, where the borrowers basically could get a free ride in a house if it went up in value but Golden West, and now Wachovia, bought the downside? How did it let a "heads you win, tails I lose" situation develop? I sit here and look at this once great franchise and I wonder whether: A) It had just lost its mind and the people running it had no idea what they were doing, or
B) They decided they wanted a lot of risk and betrayed their roots. Either way, it is the obituary for the Wachovia as we knew it, and a recipe for a stock that simply can't be owned even if there is a turn unless this management vanishes from the face of the banking earth. Sad. Really sad. Great legacy lost.

For the rest of Cramer's takes on Tuesday's most-searched stocks, including

First Solar

(FSLR) - Get Report

and

Kroger

(KR) - Get Report

, check out

Cramer's Take on Top 10 Most-Searched Stocks From May 20

at Stockpickr.com.

Stockpickr is a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com.

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