We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Put These 8 Stocks Under the Microscope. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer put under the microscope.

On Friday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, reminded his viewers that during volatile market days like that very day, it is easy to get caught up in the chaos and miss the bigger picture. He emphasized that understanding the overall picture could reveal significant opportunities. Cramer also took the time to go over some of his favorite casual dining stocks, pointing out that the CEOs of these companies had previously appeared on his show and provided valuable insights into the business.

“I want you to listen to me, breathe in, breathe out slowly… and don’t take any action until you’re certain that you can handle any amount of pain if it goes against you. If you think you can cope, then use the craziness that is happening in this stock market to start a position or to put money in an index fund that mirrors the S&P 500 because I think you’ll do fine, but if you can’t take the pain, don’t even think about it.”

READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Commented On These 6 Stocks Recently and Jim Cramer and Analysts Like These 10 Stocks

According to Cramer, the current market is far too volatile and fragile. He warned that if investors lack the mental strength to withstand short-term downturns, they risk buying stocks at their peak and selling them at a loss before witnessing a market rebound, like what happened that very day. The market started strong, dipped significantly, and then quickly recovered. He went to say:

“When the market’s going up, everybody wants to wait for a pullback to buy stocks at a better price but once stocks start rolling over, we get terrified and we can’t bring ourselves to pull the trigger. Lately, we’ve experienced a wholesale liquidation. I think there’s some great buying opportunities out there, you just need to know how to find them.”

Cramer specifically pointed to casual dining stocks that have taken a hit, even after reporting strong earnings. He suggested that some of the decline could be attributed to profit-taking after a peak in stock prices, while other factors like high valuations may have contributed as well. Furthermore, some of the weakness in these stocks was due to softer traffic in early February, which he noted was due to bad weather, as well as the ongoing trade war negatively affecting consumer sentiment.

“The bottom line: When you look at these three casual dining plays, their stocks are down big from their highs. I think they’re absolutely worth buying. Even if the economy’s truly headed for a nasty slowdown, these chains offer the consumer great value and that’s exactly what the consumer wants at this moment.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 8 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 7. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 hedge funds.

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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Close-up of items from the restaurant apparel and toys in a vibrant display.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21

Cramer recently highlighted Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBRL) as a stock that has caught his attention. Although the stock has experienced a significant decline in recent weeks, Cramer noted that the company’s management has pointed to factors such as unfavorable weather conditions and broader macroeconomic uncertainty as contributors to the challenges faced in early February.

While this situation is not ideal, Cramer emphasized that there are still positive aspects to consider. He pointed to the strong set of numbers the company reported recently, with better-than-expected same-store sales growth. Furthermore, Cramer acknowledged that the macroeconomic uncertainty has already been factored into the company’s four-year forecast, which the company recently raised. He added:

“While management admitted that February got off to a challenging start, they said the last two weeks have seen meaningful improvement. I like that. Not too surprised when you remember that Cracker Barrel also represents a stellar value proposition like the other two… Now Cracker Barrel is still very much a work in progress. Something that CEO Julie Masino is quite candid about.

On the conference call, she explained that this year is still an investment year before ‘financial results will significantly improve by the second half of fiscal 2026 and further accelerate into fiscal 2027’. No wonder the stock’s been a hard hit, down more than 33% from its highs at the end of January despite yesterday’s 7% gain. Now we had Julie on the show and I point blank asked her if we can count on Cracker Barrel to be a refuge from all the craziness when you go to the stores, not the stock.”

Cramer referred to comments from the CEO who explained that the company’s struggles in early February were largely due to extremely bad weather. Cramer noted that the stock has nearly retraced to the same level it was at when he first recommended it last summer, marking a significant shift. Despite the challenges, Cramer believes Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) is a good buy. However, he cautioned that the company is in the midst of a turnaround, which inherently makes it a riskier option compared to other restaurant chains like Brinker or Texas Roadhouse.

Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) operates a chain of restaurants with attached gift shops, offering a variety of meals, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with pick-up and delivery services, while its gift shops feature a range of products like home décor, clothing, food items, and seasonal gifts.

Overall, CBRL ranks 8th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer put under the microscope. While we acknowledge the potential of CBRL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 CBRL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.