The start of the new year is finally at hand. With a very wild financial 2016 in the rear view mirror it is time once again to look forward to my potential stock picks for new month. If you recall, the market got off on a very bad foot at the start of 2016. In fact, it was the worst start for the markets ever, as all the financial headlines were declaring, ‘this is it!,’ the start of the long awaited correction and bear market had begun. Of course, we all know how wrong those calls were as 2016 turned out to be a very good year for many stocks and sectors overall.
With the start of the new year, once again, I’ll be able to invest in my ROTH which is nice since I wasn’t able to touch that account for a few months after fully funding it for the year with no cash left for trading. New year equals another fresh $5,500 to invest. With that being said I’d like to highlight several of my January 2017 stock considerations.
Looking to the month ahead I feel compelled to highlight two potential sectors I’d like to invest my fresh capital. The first, consumer staples and second REITs.
Looking at the consumer staples I am considering quite a few names that I have not “touched†in a long time and would potentially like to increase and/or initiate positions. First I’d like to mention Unilever PLC (UL) which has been my only go to consumer staple over the last few months. With a yield that’s north of 3% and a stock price that is around $40 or below, UL will be a name that will remain on my potential buy list. Now, on to the other consumer staples I like that I have not added to in a while. These stocks include, The Coca-Cola Company (KO), Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB), The Procter & Gamble Company (PG), General Mills, Inc. (GIS) and Diageo plc (DEO). I am fully aware that these stocks are still considered expensive by traditional valuation metrics but they are trading at much better levels than just a few months ago as the sector as a whole fell out of favor with financial, industrial and other sectors getting the spotlight. With each name yielding 3% and up I feel compelled to at least consider one or several of the names mentioned.
