Starwood Hotels reported a monster quarter with earnings of $0.51 per share. Wall Street analysts were only looking for earnings of $.22 per share. The resulting 132% upside surprise has gone largely unnoticed.

It is important to note that Starwood’s earnings performance was not just driven by aggressive cost cutting as we have seen from many other earnings “beats”. Business at the hotel chain seems much better than Wall Street anticipated and the company increased their guidance for the remainder of 2010. The company is already benefiting from improving economic conditions as both business and leisure travelers are starting to spend once again.

Cramer believes that Starwood is also well positioned to capitalize on the economic recovery as the company was active during the past recession by opening new locations and closing underperforming hotels.

With the vast majority of their hotels located overseas, Starwood seems like a perfect play on the return of business travel.

Cramer is clearly very bullish on Starwood Hotels and recommends that investors buy Starwood stock.

Here is a review of the performance of Jim Cramer’s stock picks from Wednesday’s Mad Money show.

Healthcare Reform Stocks
MedcoHealth Solutions (MHS: 48.00 -0.93%), Express Scripts (ESRX: 45.18 +1.16%), St Jude Medical (STJ: 36.77 +1.16%) and Boston Scientific (BSX: 5.60 0.00%) also posted nice gains today after Jim Cramer predicted that President Obama’s healthcare reform plan was unlikely to go through. Cramer was bullish on these healthcare stocks and urged investors to buy given the unlikelihood of Obama’s reform program getting through Congress.

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS: 17.53 -3.15%)
Skyworks Solutions stock jumped 12% today after Cramer interviewed CEO David Aldrich on yesterday’s Mad Money program. Cramer has been very bullish on the mobile internet revolution and included the stock in his Mobile Internet Index that he created on August 11.

The Skyworks CEO believes the company’s outlook is improving due to increasing consumer demand. The company is also benefitting from the increasing adoption of Wifi technology. Cramer reiterated his strong bullish views on Skyworks and the mobile internet sector in general.

Cramer’s Lightning Round stock picks:

XTO Energy (XTO: 0.00 N/A) jumped 3.9% – Cramer recommended that investors stick with the stock for the second consecutive day.
Brigham Exploration (BEXP: 17.26 -0.40%) fell 0.3% – Cramer was bearish on the stock and believes its run is over.

Here is a review of the performance of Jim Cramer’s stock picks from Thursday’s Mad Money show that shows the “Cramer effect” in action.

Devon Energy (DVN: 62.49 -0.02%)
Devon Energy posted a 0.7% gain after Jim Cramer interviewed Devon Energy CEO Larry Nichols on last night’s show. Mr. Nichols reinforced Cramer’s view that natural gas is likely to be used as a bridge fuel and that officials in Washington are just now realizing its value. Cramer iss bullish on Devon based on the company’s diversified energy portfolio that includes both oil and natural gas.

Ross Stores (ROST: 52.66 +0.61%)
In part 4 of the weeklong series, Jim Cramer profiled Ross Stores as a potential candidate to be the next “discount king”. The discount clothing retailer has recently posted positive same-store sales and has aggressive growth plans to nearly double the number of existing stores. However, Cramer is worried that Ross Stores will face the same challenges as TJ Maxx (TJX: 41.52 +1.44%) as department stores reduce their inventory providing fewer opportunities for the discount retailers.

In concluding this week’s search for the next “discount king”, Mr. Cramer crowned BJ’s Wholesale (BJ: 45.55 +1.13%) as the best candidate to take the crown. The retailer stands to benefit from its membership base and diversified product offerings and yet the stock still remains cheap compared to its peers.

Cramer’s Lightning Round stock picks:

EMC (EMC: 19.79 -0.65%) gained 0.6% – Cramer is bullish on the tech stock because of their potential partnership with Cisco Systems. “That is one red hot sizzling tech stock.”

Chesapeake Energy (CHK: 21.03 -0.33%) rose 1.7% – Cramer still prefers Devon Energy over Chesapeake Energy.

Yahoo (YHOO: 13.88 +0.87%) dropped 0.5% – Cramer expressed his disappointment with Yahoo and CEO Carol Bartz, “I like Carol Bartz, but she hasn’t delivered yet. I can’t think of a reason to buy it”.

Principal Financial Group (PFG: 25.61 -1.12%) increased 0.6% – While Cramer feels that the financial stock is “out of the woods”, he still doesn’t recommend investors buy the stock.

Rockwood Holdings (ROC: 29.21 +1.07%) jumped 3.0% – Cramer gave this stock a very bullish recommendation and believes this “hot” stock will go even higher.

Salesforce.com (CRM: 98.95 +1.19%)
Salesforce.com rose 16.2% after delivering better than expecting quarterly results yesterday. The stock also benefitted from the Cramer effect as Mr. Cramer interviewed Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff on Thursday nights show. Mr. Benioff was very confident that CRM will improve dramatically as the economy begins to recover. Cramer was very bullish on the stock as it was one of the rare stocks delivering a “double play” by beating earnings estimates by increasing their revenues rather than just cost cutting. Cramer recommends investors buy the stock and believes it will hit at least $70.

Triple-S Management (GTS: 19.88 -0.20%)
For the second day in a row, Cramer talked about Wellpoint (WLP: 50.72 +1.68%) and Triple-S Management. While Wellpoint rose only 0.8% today, Triple-S shares jumped 8.4% on the Cramer buy recommendation. Mr. Cramer believes that healthcare stocks will benefit as multiple expand and sees big potential in these HMO stocks. “We’ve been positive about this group since it became clear that the agenda’s stumbling, now it’s time to go pedal to the metal on this beaten down sector,” says Cramer.

Shaw Group (SHAW: 32.04 -1.48%)
Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhard was also interviewed by Mr. Cramer on Thursday’s show. Mr. Cramer sees the stock as a great play on nuclear energy and believes the Obama administration is looking more favorable on the concept of nuclear energy. While the company delivered disappointing earnings last quarter, Cramer believes the stock is cheap and will see upside in the future.

Other Cramer stock picks:

Whirlpool (WHR: 83.30 -0.96%) rose 4.8% – Cramer believes the stock along with Sears Holdings (SHLD: 71.00 +3.23%) could benefit from the governments $300 million appliance rebate program.

Netflix (NFLX: 102.55 +4.62%) rose only 0.3% – Cramer recommended selling the stock.

Coinstar Group (CSTR: 45.50 -5.39%) rose 1.1% – Cramer recommended buying CSTR as a hedge against selling Netflix.

Three stocks that were profiled on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money show last night also saw a lift from the “Cramer Effect”. 

B&G Foods (BGS: 11.47 +1.41%)

The food company gained 6.9% after Cramer interviewed CEO David Wenner on Tuesday’s Mad Money show. The company is focused on acquired quality brand names such as Ortega and Cream of Wheat. Cramer is bullish on the stock and likes the 8.2% high dividend yield. 

Emdeon (EM: 12.50 -0.16%)

Emdeon was another bullish stock pick of Mr. Cramer that benefitted from the “Cramer effect” today. The healthcare stock rose 2.8% after Cramer said the company has earnings momentum during the Lightning Round segment of the show. Cramer recommends buying the stock all the way up to $18. 

Windstream (WIN: 11.40 -1.30%)

Another bullish stock pick out of the Lightning Round was Windstream which gained 1.5%. Cramer has a lot of confidence in CEO Jeff Gardner and believes that the stock’s 12% dividend yield is still safe. 

Other Cramer stock picks: 

Treehouse Foods (THS: 47.69 -0.31%) rose 0.1% – The stock finished virtually unchanged despite Mr. Cramer’s bullish recommendation and $45 price target.

Home Depot (HD: 28.51 +1.64%) declined 0.7% and Lowes gained 1.2% (LOW: 20.74 +1.27%) – The home improvement stocks seemed to buck the trend, because Cramer’s recommendation of Home Depot didn’t seem to move the stock, while Lowe’s went up despite bearish comments from Mr. Cramer.

Toll Brothers (TOL: 17.36 +1.64%)

The housing builder gained 3.3% after positive comments by Jim Cramer. Toll Brothers CEO Bob Toll has been talking up his company’s performance lately, but Cramer believes him. The reason being that “no one was more negative than Bob Toll this time last year” which lends more credence to his recent bullish comments.    

Citigroup (C: 4.10 -0.49%)

The financial stock gained 3.5% on a strong sector performance. Cramer doesn’t expect Citigroup to pull back either. Mr. Cramer set a $6 price target for the bank on August 6^th and believes that a turn is coming. 

Urban Outfitters (URBN: 32.16 +0.44%)

Urban Outfitters jumped 3.3% today after Cramer said it was broken stock and not a broken company. The company reported strong quarterly results and has a clean balance sheet. Cramer believes this provides management with a lot of options to either buy back stock or make acquisitions. Cramer believes the stock is cheap and sees it going up 50%. 

BB&T (BBT: 24.83 -0.88%)

Jim Cramer stated that BB&T is still cheap and recommends that investors get in now. The bank stock rose 4.2% after recently being given a gift by the FDIC in being allowed to take over the assets of Colonial Bancorp (CNB: 0.00 N/A). The takeover will make BB&T the 8^th largest bank in the country. Cramer thinks the deal will boost the company’s EPS and has “enormous upside”.

Wendy’s (WEN: 4.36 -0.23%) stock soared 6.3% after Cramer said Wendy’s is “the next big fast-food stock to make its move to higher territory”. Cramer sees a big opportunity for Wendy’s to expand its breakfast menu which currently only accounts for 2% of their total orders. The company is also expanding internationally with new locations in Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Cramer believes that Wendy’s is a buy and investors appear to be jumping in. 

Dell (DELL: 13.24 +0.61%) fell 1.6% after Cramer hinted that he is bearish on the stock. The Mad Money host feels that Dell won’t have a very good quarter and that the stock price has probably stalled. “.I think you only have a couple of points left in Dell”, said Cramer. 

U.S. Steel (X: 44.33 +1.28%) was another bearish stock pick of Mr. Cramer. The materials stock fell 1.5% after Cramer said the stock looks too expensive relative to Nucor (NUE: 39.14 -0.05%) after its recent monster move. 

Other Cramer stock picks: 

Yahoo (YHOO: 13.88 +0.87%) fell 1.2% – “The problem is that Carol Bartz set the bar so high she can only disappoint. At a certain price it is good. I don’t know about the earnings…don’t buy. I was expecting more myself and was disappointed.”

Oracle [[ORCL] inched up 0.1% – “I would like to be a buyer right now”

Navistar (NAV: 51.71 -0.73%) dropped 0.1% and Paccar (PCAR: 45.82 +0.50%) fell 2.5% – “I think the world of Navistar. I also like PCAR. I think the trucking cycle will come back, but it is a 2010 story not a 2009 story.”

Halliburton (HAL: 29.88 -0.76%) jumped 3.0% after Cramer said he couldn’t believe how well the stock has performed following their recent earnings announcement. Cramer is bullish on both oil and natural gas, and he believes the rising prices of those commodities will be positive for Halliburton. “I want to buy Halliburton, not sell”, said Cramer. 

Another energy stock that got a lift from the “Cramer effect” was El Paso (EP: 12.32 -0.32%). The stock was up 2.6% on Monday after Cramer said he loved El Paso’s recent quarterly performance and feels like he has to recommend the stock. “You have got to have horse sense… that stock is headed up big”, said Cramer. 

ON Semiconductor (ONNN: 6.75 -1.32%) got some nice exposure on Friday’s show with CEO Keith Jackson back on the Mad Money show discussing his company’s strong earnings report. ON Semiconductor is seeing increasing demand for its power-control chips and Cramer remains bullish on the stock. Investors lifted the bullish stock pick up 1.5% in Monday’s trading session. 

Other Cramer stock picks: 

IES-BFC (BIN: 22.51 -0.62%) gained 1.4% – Cramer rates the Canadian waste management company as a buy and believes it has room to grow.

Patriot Coal (PCX: 12.06 -1.47%) rose 2.1% – The stock rose despite the fact that Cramer expects the stock to take a breather.

Radian Group (RDN: 8.60 -1.94%) jumped 5.4% – Cramer was bearish on the stock because it is a short squeeze.

JC Penny’s (JCP: 24.63 -0.08%) jumped 9.7% after Cramer said he thinks the retailer will have a great back-to-school season. He also recommended Urban Outfitters (URBN: 32.16 +0.44%) which gained 6.8%. 

One financial stock that Cramer continues to recommend is Huntingdon Bancshares (HBAN: 6.06 0.00%). The stock jumped 6.6% on Friday after Cramer said the stock is “dynamite” and he prefers it over KeyCorp (KEY: 8.46 +0.24%). Cramer recommends investors continue buying Huntingdon. 

Cramer all tried to reassure the market in the wake of the accounting scandal at Huron Consulting (HURN: 20.53 -1.86%). While Huron has seen its stock price fall nearly 70% in the last few days and probably has completely destroyed its reputation, Cramer sees opportunity in some of the other accounting firms that have fallen along with Huron. Cramer recommended Duff & Phelps (DUF: 10.84 +5.14%), but also likes FTI Consulting (FCN: 35.35 -0.65%). The stocks reacted positively to Cramer’s bullish recommendation gaining 2.7% and 2.9% respectively. 

Citigroup managed only a 1.3% gain on Friday despite Cramer spending a great deal of time on his show outlining the merits of investing in Citigroup. While Cramer believes that investing in Citigroup is like investing in America, he also laid out five reasons for investors to be buying Citi’s shares: 

1. It is very cheap. Cramer believes the book value is about $4 per share and thinks the stock should sell at 1.5x book value for a $6 price target.

2. The governments 34% stake. The government can sell its 34% stake in Citigroup on September 10. The government has already made $5 billion on its position, and could have a $20 billion windfall from the sale.

3. Geographic positioning. Citigroup is the dominant bank in 108 countries. In spite of its domestic woes, Citigroup is still the leader in emerging markets.

4. Good bank vs. bad bank. Citigroup is spinning off its toxic loans by dividing itself into two companies. This will leave the main bank with three profitable businesses; retail banking, global services and investment banking.

5. Solid management. Cramer likes the current management team at Citi and believes the government would be crazy to replace CEOs Vikram Pandit and Ned Kelly.

Shares of Citigroup gained 6.2% after Cramer said the stock the stock was a buy. Cramer sees no reason why Citi’s stock can’t reach $4 per share. Cramer has been bearish on Citigroup in the past and even now seems to struggle with his newfound bullish stance. 

Cramer again recommended Smith Micro Software (SMSI: 9.83 -1.60%) sending the stock up 2.8% on Thursday. Cramer really like the mobile internet sector and likes SMSI even though its trading nears its 52-week high. “I am a buyer on any weakness”, said Cramer. 

Other Cramer stock picks: 

First Energy (FE: 37.70 -1.00%) gained 1.4% – “First Energy is a well-run company with a good yield.”

Tellabs (TLAB: 6.98 -5.55%) jumped 1.6% – Cramer says to buy, buy, buy TLAB under $6 a share.