Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now

Lately, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) has been hitting record high after record high. That has a lot of people wondering whether we're entering bubble territory. But not every stock is doing so well -- in fact, some are downright cheap.

A great metric to help investors decide whether a stock is cheap is its price-to-earnings ratio. This tells you how much a stock is worth relative to how much money its company made over the past year. Right now, the average Dow stock trades for a P/E of 16.7.

For comparison's sake, the Dow's five cheapest stocks -- all listed below -- have P/Es far lower than this average. But as you'll see, that doesn't necessarily mean they're all strong buys right now.

5. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , P/E of 12
Ever since computing became more mobile and less focused on desktop PCs, investors have worried about Intel. Before smartphones came along, Intel held a commanding 80% market share in the semiconductor industry. But the company was late to the mobile game, and the core PC market is slowly eroding.

Top 5 Chemical Companies To Own In Right Now: Professional Diversity Network Inc (IPDN)

Professional Diversity Network, Inc, formerly Professional Diversity Network, LLC, incorporated on October 23, 2003, develops and operates online networks serving diverse professionals in the United States. As of February 28, 2013, the Company focused on Hispanic-American and African-American professionals and launched additional Websites to other diverse segments, including women, Asian-American, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), differently-abled and military professionals. As of February 28, 2013, it had two million members and more than 3,000 companies and organizations, including 60% of the companies, have listed job postings on its Websites. The Company�� major assets include iHispano.com, which has over 1.2 million members in its network and AMightyRiver.com, which has over 600,000 members in its network. As of September 30, 2012, iHispano.com had over 3.7 million visitors and over 4.3 million visits, while AMightyRiver.com had over one million visitors and over 1.2 million visits. In June 2013, Professional Diversity Network announced that it has acquired Resunate Recruiting Technology Platform. In September 2013, Professional Diversity Network Inc acquired the assets of Personnel Strategies Inc.

The Company launched additional online professional networking Websites that serve other diverse communities, including women (WomensCareerChannel.com), Asian Americans (ACareers.net), LGBT (OutProNet.com), enlisted and veteran military personnel (Military2Career.com) and differently-abled (ProAble.net) professionals. In the nine months ended September 30, 2012, this Website had over 700,000 visits and over 600,000 visitors. As of September 30, 2012, WomensCareerChannel.com had over 75,000 members. On November 12, 2012, the Company entered into a diversity recruitment partnership agreement with LinkedIn, which became effective on January 1, 2013. Pursuant to its agreement, LinkedIn may resell to its customer diversity-based job postings and recruitment advertising on the Co! mpany�� Websites.

Solutions for Members

The Company offers a variety online professional networking and career placement solutions. The solutions include talent recruitment communities, job postings and company information search capability, identity and contact management, networking tools, mentoring program, career tools and skill-based content , and E-newsletter and national event information.

Solutions for Employers and Recruiters

The Company posts job listings of employers through its strategic partnership with LinkedIn. These employers include large corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations and other enterprises. The hiring solutions the Company offers include talent recruitment communities, single and multiple job postings, resume database, hiring campaign marketing and advertising, research on products and services, and employment recruitment intelligence compliance assistance (ERICA).

Solutions for Advertisers

The Company�� platform also enables advertisers to target and reach large audiences of diverse professionals and connect them to relevant services. It assists advertisers in building campaigns and provides additional creative services. The Company�� branding and marketing platform employs email marketing, social media, search engines, traffic aggregators and strategic partnerships.

The Company competes with LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter, Monster Worldwide, Taleo, Career Builder, Black Planet and MiGente.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Professional Diversity Network LLC (IPDN) �dropped 26% to $3.50 on light volume after hours Friday. The company said in an SEC filing that LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) �will no longer resell the company�� postings or recruitment advertising on LinkedIn after March 30.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: Sovran Self Storage Inc.(SSS)

Sovran Self Storage, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT). It engages in the acquisition, ownership, and management of self-storage properties in the United States. The company?s self-storage properties offer storage space to residential and commercial users, as well as offer outside storage for automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats. As of February 15, 2007, it owned and managed 328 properties, consisting of approximately 20.3 million net rentable square feet in 22 states. Sovran Self Storage has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to income tax to the extent it distributes at least 90% of taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Williamsville, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Self-storage REIT�Sovran Self Storage (NYSE: SSS  ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.53 per share, a 10% increase from the payout it made to investors last quarter of $0.48 per share.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP)

Hi Crush Partners LP, formerly Hi-Crush Partners LP, is a domestic producer of monocrystalline sand, a specialized mineral that is used as a proppant to enhance the recovery rates of hydrocarbons from oil and natural gas wells. The Company reserves consist of Northern White sand, a resource existing in Wisconsin and limited portions of the upper Midwest region of the United States. It owns, operates and develops sand reserves and related excavation and processing facilities and will seek to acquire or develop additional facilities. The Company's 561-acre facility with integrated rail infrastructure, located near Wyeville, Wisconsin, enables it to process and deliver approximately 1,600,000 tons of frac sand per year. In June 2013, Hi Crush Partners LP announced the completion of its acquisition of D&I Silica, LLC (D&I).

The Company�� frac sand production is sold to investment grade-rated pressure pumping service providers under long-term, contracts that require its customers to pay a specified price for a specified volume of frac sand each month. The Company owns and operates the Wyeville facility, which is located in Monroe County, Wisconsin and, as of December 31, 2011, contained 48.4 million tons of proven recoverable sand reserves of mesh sizes it has contracted to sell. From the Wyeville in-service date to March 31, 2012, it had processed and sold 555,250 tons of frac sand.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  Hi-Crush Partners (NYSE: HCLP  ) and U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA  ) could also pose a threat to CARBO's higher-end products. CARBO has worked feverishly to convince drillers that ceramic proppants are much stronger than sand, and can withstand the high temperatures and pressures of deep, fractured wells. Since Hi-Crush's IPO, however, it does appear that the tide has shifted to sand, as Carbo's revenues have declined�while Hi-Crush and U.S. Silica have gained. Increased competition from a number of Chinese companies that have flooded the domestic market with cheap ceramic proppants is also a danger to CARBO's higher-quality products, provided that the cut-rate ceramics are actually up to the task.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Hi-Crush Partners (NYSE: HCLP  )
  Sticking with the MLP theme, Hi-Crush Partners operates at the other end of the oil and gas drilling spectrum. The company mines the sand that's used as a fracking proppant; in so doing, it's one of the many companies piggybacking on the shale boom. As one of the lowest-cost producers, the company enjoys healthy margins which enables it to pay a very fine 10.5% distribution.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  It sounds like a soft-drink company, but Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) is racking up profits through the revolution in oil extraction.

  This tiny company with a market cap of just $917 million makes the sand used in fracking — and as anyone in an oil-boom state like North Dakota can tell you, business is good.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Tuesday
  Hi-Crush Partners (NYSE: HCLP  ) checks in on Tuesday. This is another high-yielding limited partnership that went public last year. Hi-Crush is a producer of monocrystalline sand that's primarily used in the fracking process.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: Gramercy Property Trust Inc (GPT)

Gramercy Property Trust Inc., formerly Gramercy Capital Corp., incorporated on April 1, 2004, is an integrated, self-managed real estate investment and asset management company. The Company�� principal business is to acquire and manage industrial and office properties, net leased to tenants in major markets throughout the United States. The Company owns, directly or in joint venture, a portfolio of 112 buildings totaling approximately 4.2 million square feet of office and 1.5 million square feet of industrial, net leased on a long-term basis to tenants, including Bank of America, Nestle Waters, Philips Electronics and others. In September 2013, it closed on five new acquisitions. In October 2013, it acquired an approximately 220,000 square foot food-grade cold storage and distribution facility located in Yuma, Arizona. In October 2013, the Company acquired approximately 120,350 square foot industrial facility in Austin, Texas. In November 2013, the Company announced the acquisition of six new properties.

In June 2013, the Company announced that it has closed on the acquisition of a build-to-suit of an approximately 120,0000 square foot industrial facility located in Hialeah, Gardens, Florida in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area. In July 2013, Gramercy Property Trust Inc closed on four acquisitions; a wholesale automotive auction facility in Dallas, Texas, an industrial cold storage facility in Southern New Jersey and two cross-dock truck terminals located in Houston, Texas and Orlando, Florida.

The Company's property management business, operating under the name Gramercy Asset Management, manages for third-parties commercial properties leased primarily to regulated financial institutions and affiliated users throughout the United States. The Company is actively acquiring industrial and office assets leased to companies in a variety of industries. The Company will primarily acquire long-term leased assets, but will acquire shorter leases with risk adjusted returns.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris DeMuth Jr.]

  This article is intended to update our readers on the progress on Gramercy Property Trust (GPT) through 2Q 2013. For background you may want to go back and read our previous articles. In this particular article, I will focus on 4 particular points:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

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  Best Stocks to Buy for Around $5: Gramercy Property Trust (GPT)

  Gramercy Property Trust (GPT) is a real estate investment trust that manages mainly industrial and office properties across the U.S. As of last year, GPT controlled more than 110 buildings with about 4.2 million square feet of office space and 1.5 million square feet of industrial space.