Inflation is high, the Fed is aggressively hiking interest rates, and the markets keep testing their lows for the year. The rest of this week will see several key monthly reports, including the consumer price index, or the inflation report, on Thursday. Currently, inflation is up 8.3% since last year, and economists are expecting that number to decline to 8.1%.

Jim Cramer, the well-known host of CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’ program, is finding a silver lining in the current situation, telling investors, “I always say there’s no give without a get. Right now, the give is that you get your portfolio all going down — the Fed’s bringing the pain. The get is that you’ll eventually be rewarded with lower inflation followed by lower rates. We’re very much in the first phase, though, the give phase.”

But when the Fed does switch away from hiking rates, the ‘get’ may be substantial – and Cramer recommends picking up some relevant stocks now, while markets generally are down, in preparation for a later true rally.

Cramer has made some specific calls on this end, and we’ve used the TipRanks databank to pull up the details on two of them; here they are, presented along with commentary from the Wall Street analysts.

Valero Energy Corporation (VLO)

The first ‘Cramer pick’ we’ll look at is Valero Energy, a major producer and distributor of refined fuels. Valero works in the North American, Caribbean, and UK markets, and operates 15 refiners in the US, Canada, and the UK, along with a 50 megawatt wind farm and 11 ethanol biofuel plants. The company is the second largest producer of both corn ethanol and renewable diesel fuels on the global markets.

Valero ran net earnings losses through 2020, but in 2Q21 the company turned to profitability – and has seen earnings and revenues both rise since then. In the last reported quarter, 2Q22, both the top and bottom lines saw major jumps. Revenues hit $51.6 billion, up 86% from the year-ago quarter, and diluted EPS rose to $11.36, from just 63 cents one year prior. The company had a total adjusted net quarterly income attributable to shareholders of $4.6 billion.