Cramer on Safeway, Wal-Mart, and Kroger

Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) opened at $37.74. So far today the stock has hit a low of $37.44 and a high of $38.17. As of 12:25 PM, SWY is trading at $37.63, up $0.29 (0.8%).

SWY shares have been gaining steadily all year, hitting a new one year high today. Jim Cramer believes grocery chains, particularly SWY and Kroger (NYSE: KR), stand to benefit greatly from Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) decline. Though Safeway is at a high right now, Cramer says it's not done. His advice: keep buying. Recent technical indicators for SWY have been bullish but deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bull-put credit spread below the $30 range. SWY hasn't been below $30 since November and has shown support around $33 recently. This trade could be risky if SWY earnings (due out 4/26) disappoint, but even if this happens, this position could be protected by the stock's 200 day moving average, which is right at $32. In the past 10 months, the stock has stayed well above that line of support.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the 18 Warning Signs That Tell You When To Dump A Stock. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At press time, Brent neither owns nor controls a position in SWY.