Got 20 bucks?

By Dian Vujovich

If you’re a fan of the 30 stocks that currently make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average, purchasing one share of five of the cheapest won’t take much.

Hard as it may be to believe, decide to purchase one share of the following five stocks and you’ll be able to do it all for less than 20 bucks—not including commissions. Prices are based on March 4, 2009 figures reported at 1:36 p.m. from Yahoo! Finance.

In alphabetical order those companies include:

Alcoa (AA), $6.11 per share; Bank of America (BAC), $3.57; Citigroup (C), $1.17; General Electric (GE), $6.29; and General Motors (GM), $2.13, per share.

Decide to go for one share for those selling under 20 bucks and there were 12 that fell into that range yesterday.

Added to the ones just mentioned would be: American Express (AXP), $11.50; DuPont (DD), $18.02; Home Depot (HD), $18.90; Intel (INTC), $12.76; Microsoft (MSFT), $16.14; Pfizer (PFE) $12.28; and Disney (DIS), $16.83.

Want to purchase e a share of all the 30 stocks? That would cost you—based on yesterday’s early afternoon prices and not including commissions–$858.58.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Dow’s two most expensive stocks: IBM, selling yesterday for over $89 per share and Exxon Mobile (XOM). It was trading around $65 per share.

Okay. One share is hardly an investment but 100 shares is. While I am NOT suggesting you run out and purchase any of the companies I’ve mentioned, my point is that there are many attractive buys for those who believe in the companies represented in the DJIA. And for those who do their research to see if an investment in one might be appropriate for them.

So look around. You might find that your belief in a company— its future, balance sheet and the potential for making money over the long run— is stronger than your consumer confidence concerns.

Read the rest of the story at
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/02/20/business/0222-pay-graphic.html?ref=business and weep.