Stop Trading!: Best Insurance Plays
Web Producer
Use caution when buying insurance stocks. That was the theme of Wednesday’s Stop Trading!, where Cramer said he was a fan of property and casualty insurers but wouldn’t touch the bond insurers with a ten-foot pole.
On the news that Liberty Mutual has agreed to buy Seattle-based Safeco for more than $6 million, Cramer lauded the deal. Safeco is a “real” insurer, he said, as opposed to a “faux” insurer like Ambac , which got slammed in Wednesday trading after reporting a bigger-than-expected loss.
Cramer said he would also be a buyer of Chubb and Travelers , as they are part of an insurance industry that is “ripe and ready” to go higher. He thinks Metlife and Prudential work too but he would stay away from AIG and be weary of Allstate’s regulation issues.
Moving to commodities, Cramer commended Freeport-McMoRan once again for its acquisition of PhelpsDodge, which he called one of the greatest deals in years. Freeport is not a housing play, he stressed. It’s a company that is benefiting from the worldwide surge in commodity demand. That, coupled with continued consolidation within the space should be a boon for earnings, according to the Mad Money host. He wouldn’t expect the run in these stocks to stop anytime soon.
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