Dow Stocks -- From Bottom to Top

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The stock market, which swooned and then soared in 2009, has slumped so far this year.

Dow stocks, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average of the biggest 30 U.S. companies, have dropped 4% this year after rising 19% in 2009. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap shares has tumbled 5.2%.

Dow stocks such as McDonald's(MCD) and Johnson & Johnson(JNJ) stand a better chance of holding their value, so investors would be wise to shade their exposure to big, safe bets. Concerns about a double-dip recession here at home, burdensome debt in Europe and a credit clampdown in China have stalled the U.S. stock-market rally that began 11 months ago.

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>>Dow Stocks: Best of the Best

Last week, TheStreet.com listed the 30 Dow components ranked by its quantitative ratings model to provide investors insight into which big-name stocks sit at the top of the pile. Those stocks offer the best shot at capital preservation and appreciation during uneasy times. The list is constantly being reshuffled due to stock-price changes and earnings releases.

Here are the most current rankings by TheStreet.com's model.

#30. Alcoa(AA)

Price-to-Earnings: N/A due to losses (Industrial Materials Average: 44.32)

Debt/Capital: 38.7% (Industrial Materials Average: 35.9%)

Price-to-Sales: 0.66 (Industrial Materials Average: 6.3)

#29. Bank of America(BAC)

P/E: 32.6 (Banks Average: 24.8)

Debt/Capital: 78.2% (Banks Average: 76.8%)

Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow: 1.8 (Banks Average: 8.5)