Sometimes life gets in the way of even the most well-intentioned among us. That was me last month. I got about halfway through November and realized I didn’t put out a stock pick for the month. Oops! Well, that’s all water under the bridge now and I’m back with a pick for December. Actually, two picks. Regular readers will recognize that I’m not afraid to give you options. Well this month I’m giving you just that! My two picks are International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) and Altria (NSYE: MO).

I’ve recommended these two stocks several times before so I don’t think I need to repeat my reasons here. If you missed it, feel free to browse through the archives to find out why I like these companies. By the way, Altria is my all-time best performer. In a nutshell, IBM and Altria are both trading below their 52-week highs (15% and 8%, respectively). For Altria that’s not a great sale but the rest of the numbers make up for that. Both companies have impressive P/E and EPS equal to the P/E. That’s what I call value. Basically, they’re earning money (lots of it) yet priced as if they aren’t. While that’s a gross simplification of how to valuate a company, my philosophy is all about keeping it simple. We look for great companies at a good price and these companies are both good value. The dividend yields are under 4% which barely makes our cut but they are solid companies with a long history of increasing dividends.

There you have it. Short and simple. Two great choices this month. While either one is a good bet, I’m adding IBM to the PDI portfolio because it scored 14 while Altria scored 13.