We recently published a list of Jim Cramer’s Latest Mad Money Episode: Top 10 Stocks to Watch. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) stands against other stocks on Jim Cramer’s top stocks to watch list.
Jim Cramer in a latest program on CNBC made the case for investing in individual stocks to enjoy bigger gains when compared to investing in just the broader market index funds. Cramer said that while it’s “easy” to just park your money in index funds and let the market do the work, investing in individual stocks can give you some “serious gains.”
“I think you should own more than just an index fund because buying individual stocks with special characteristics is how you can rack up some really serious gains. That includes often scoring speculative stocks. Far too often, we become snobs when we talk stocks. So many experts think that if you venture past the index, you could fall off some sort of intellectual cliff that makes any gains null and void. It’s as if the huge swath of points you could have gained simply don’t count. But that, people, is nonsense.”
Cramer said banks do not “care” where the money comes from and neither should investors. He urged investors to not always avoid speculation.
“I come tonight to praise speculation. Here, I’m the only one on TV who actually does this, believe it or not, and to show you how well you could have done if you picked some high flyers for your portfolio and simply held them for the long ride, along with your prosaic, precious index funds.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer’s Latest Lightning Round: 11 Stocks to Watch and Jim Cramer on AMD and Other Stocks.
For this article we watched the latest programs of Jim Cramer aired on CNBC and picked 10 stocks he’s talking about. With each company we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
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Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 36
A caller recently asked Jim Cramer whether he agrees that Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) is undervalued. Cramer agreed with the caller but said he could not recommend the stock.
“Altria is undervalued—Altria is. However, I can’t recommend it because I’m not going to recommend tobacco stocks. I have a long history of not recommending them because I just don’t think I should endorse something that is so bad for people.”
Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) is a high-yield dividend stock. Amid the decline in the usage of traditional tobacco products globally, Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) is swiftly diversifying its revenue stream away from traditional tobacco with its e-vapor product NJOY and nicotine pouches.
In June, the FDA approved four NJOY menthol-flavored e-cigarette products, making them the first non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes to gain FDA marketing authorization.
In Q3 2024, NJOY saw a 15.6% year-over-year rise in consumables shipment volume, while device shipments tripled to 1.1 million units. Meanwhile, the on! nicotine pouch brand grew its market share to 8.9% in Q3, up 2 percentage points from the previous year. The company also noted a 40% year-over-year increase in repeat purchasers for on!.
Overall, MO ranks 7th on our list of Jim Cramer’s top stocks to watch. While we acknowledge the potential of MO, our conviction lies in the belief that under-the-radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
