Cramer's Take on Headline Stocks: Feb. 23
Not a Stockpickr member? Join the community today -- for free.
NEW YORK (
) -- Regardless of why a stock is in the news, it never hurts to hear what a professional investor has to say about it. The key is to gather as much information as you can in order to make the most informed investment decisions you can. As Jim Cramer (read an excerpt from his
) often reminds, investors must do their homework.
So what has Cramer had to say lately about today's headline-makers? At Stockpickr, we've combed through his recent
RealMoney
blog posts, "Mad Money" TV show recaps and "Stop Trading!" segments to find out
what he thinks about some of today's newsworthy stocks
.
Home Depot
(HD) - Get Report
: Home Depot
increased its quarterly dividend
and reported a $342 million profit, or 20 cents a share, and its first same-store sales increase in almost four years. In a post last week to his
RealMoney
blog,
the"most maligned industry out there." "No matter what happens to the companies, people think the news is bad. These people are stuck in the past," he wrote.
He offered Home Depot and
Costco
(COST) - Get Report
as examples: "Also, do you think we would get all of those upgrades of Home Depot if business wasn't improving? How about that great recent number from Costco, which is propelling that stock up nicely?"
yesterday that "Home Depot and
Lowe's
(LOW) - Get Report
weighing in at 19 times makes for worry," adding that he owns Home Depot for his
charitable trust, "where we have a terrific gain."
Macy's
(M) - Get Report
: Macy's
, or $1.10 a share, in its fourth quarter, beating analyst expectations and last year's $4.77 billion loss.
On Feb. 14,
in his blog that the previous week's charts were sending signals that "the first quarter is stronger than you think." He saw evidence in retail, "where everyone but
J.C. Penney
(JCP) - Get Report
seems to be stabilizing or read to go higher. Memo to Macy's short-sellers: That one looked particularly appealing."
Target
(TGT) - Get Report
: Target reporting
of $936 million, or $1.24 a share, up from the year-ago $609 million. Although sales were up almost 4% to $19.7 billion, they missed analyst estimates for $20.16 billion.
Yesterday, Cramer
: "Sleepy and negative. Not much else can be said about this tape right now. Downward bias that may be totally related to the bizarre Friday run-up, giving us an options hangover -- a run that Helene Meisler correctly pooh-poohs in her excellent
this morning.
"Like others on 'Mad Money,' I am focusing on retail, and I believe we will see great numbers out of retail
but
a buyers' ennui, given that the stocks have run so much.
The possible exception:
TJX
(TJX) - Get Report
. Here's a stock that has been on the verge of breaking out for months now. It has the best growth, and it has the best sourcing, and it is
better
than
Wal-Mart
(WMT) - Get Report
and cheaper than Target, which also reports this week."
For more of what Cramer's had to say lately about stocks in the news, check out the
portfolio.
(Editor's note: At the time of this publication, Cramer owned Costco and Home Depot for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)
RELATED LINKS:
>>Jim Cramer's Portfolios of the Week
>>"Fast Money" Portfolios of the Week
>>Cramer's Diversified Dividend Portfolio
Follow Stockpickr on
and become a fan on
Facebook.
Stockpickr is a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com.