When a person needs to stay within a budget and still get the returns they want, it is important to look closely at every detail of the company, from the earnings report to the balance sheet, and every bit of news you can find. Here are some of the some $20 stocks that analysts have recently upgraded to buys.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MTU)

What you get with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is a company that can provide earnings of $31.08 per share for the period of 12 months after March 2011 and $67.87 per share for the period of 12 months after March of 2010. Its competitor Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) has earnings per share of $19.22 and $61.64 in 12 months ending March 2011 and 12 months ending March 2010, respectively. Furthermore, MTU has positive annual return on average equity of 5.40%. However, the larger company, Mizuho, offers higher return on equity of 14.27 in the same period.

At a price of only around $4.30 per share, this stock provides solid earnings and returns. Although it has outperformed in earnings compared to the more expensive Mizumo, the cheaper MTU certainly has it merits, and should work well in your portfolio.

Barclays Plc (BCS)

The key to getting a good purchase is to find stock that is undervalued because of events many people consider to affect the stock, but which in truth do not have an effect on the stock itself. That is how important perception really is. To continue reading, click here.