We recently published a list of Jim Cramer is Discussing These 10 Stocks Ahead of Q1 Earnings Season. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer is discussing ahead of Q1 earnings season.

Jim Cramer in a latest program on CNBC talked about the winning sectors so far this year and said the trends show a “strange” pattern. Cramer specifically mentioned the oil and gas sector which he believed would underperform given President Donald Trump’s plan to keep energy prices lower.

“I thought this group would be down given that the president wants to expand drill and we have a slower economy, but the stocks aren’t expensive and demand for natural gas very strong,” Cramer said.

Cramer also talked about healthcare and other key sectors that performed well. He believes these patterns show that investors are turning to sectors that perform well during recessions. However, Cramer thinks the state of the economy is better than feared.

“The seven stocks that make up the S&P are too big to dismiss. You need at least some of them to put together a really positive tape. But the bottom line, it’s terrific to see such a broad mixture of stocks winning here, from ones that can run in a recession to ones that can rally hard in a robust economy. What it tells me is that the market may be far healthier than we think, and this backdrop simply isn’t as bad as many would have you believe.”

READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In

For this article, we picked 10 stocks Jim Cramer recently talked about during his programs on CNBC. 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 40

Jim Cramer in a latest program on CNBC recommended investors to stay away from Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) because of the changed consumer dynamics.

“Wall Street used to love the dollar stores because, unlike most retailers, they kept putting up stores, generating good growth. They went into neighborhoods other retailers steered clear of, carrying what looked like inexpensive merchandise. Well, that changed during the pandemic. They raised their prices, and raised them, and raised them, in order to pass on the value proposition, and it’s never been the same. There is no value proposition these days. The reduced sizes often give you the appearance of value, but people know when they’re getting had. That’s why I’d stay away from Dollar Tree. This thing does not represent the kind of value that we want, or that I used to get when we used to go there all the time, by the way.”

Carillon Chartwell Mid Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) operates a chain of discount stores under the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar banners. Results fell short of expectations amid pressure on the lower-end consumer, which prompted management to reduce its outlook for the year.”

Overall, DLTR ranks 7th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer is discussing ahead of Q1 earnings season. While we acknowledge the potential of DLTR, 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 timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DLTR 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.