With a new month quickly approaching it is time, once again, to lay out my potential stock picks and decide where I’d like to deploy my fresh capital for the month of April. As was the case last month, I am finding it increasingly difficult to pick a clear cut direction of where I want to invest. It’s an old song, as many of you are already familiar with the lack of good value and yield that exists out there. Nevertheless, there are still some stocks offering ‘relative’ good value and decent yield which is where I ultimately will invest.

This month was a very unique month for me as I initiated two new positions in my portfolio. In general, I have been investing in stocks I already hold in my portfolio with new positions coming into the mix very infrequently. Following my March 2017 Stock Considerations and February 2017 Stock Considerations the two new positions I added to my portfolio included LTC Properties, Inc. (LTC) and Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL). I guess initiating two new positions in one month essentially supports the notion that I was having a difficult time finding good places to invest. With that being said I’d like to share my April stock considerations.

First up is a name I recently bought and am considering once again, Johnson Controls International plc (JCI). JCI is a solid long term dividend paying industrial that has been lagging a bit post it’s Adient plc (ADNT) spin off and continues to look decent to me at current levels.

Similarly, several other dividend stalwarts seem to have been falling on harder times as of late as their stock prices declined considerably driving their yields to attractive levels once again. Those names include, in no particular order, Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) and General Mills, Inc. (GIS). Seeing HRL with a yield around 2% and TROW and GIS well over 3% continues to entice me.

Finally, I am looking at the health REITs once again with HCP, Inc. (HCP) and Care Capital Properties, Inc. (CCP) my top picks for the start of April. As always, Mr. Market has a way of changing his mind on a dime and other names not mentioned here might suddenly become attractive to me. Of course, I have a very good track record of sticking with my stock considerations as my buys are always foreshadowed in these posts.