Top 5 Solar Stocks To Watch For 2014

The holiday season is heating up, while temperatures are dropping. Winter is well under way!

What better way to celebrate the season than to take a look at an industry we’re putting to good use this time of year: Energy. The energy sector is full of companies working to provide consumers and business with electricity, fuel, heat and many other services we put to constant use.

The energy sector gives investors a variety of options to put money into. Whether you’re interested in traditional oil and drilling companies, businesses dedicated to solar and other alternative energy sources or the corporations that provide energy equipment, there are stocks for every taste. So today we’ll see how the sector is performing as a whole, and I’ll share with you some of the best and worst energy plays on the market.

Let’s go ahead and see if the energy sector is helping warm up portfolios or burning investors.

Proceed With Caution

The energy sector can be a volatile place, as we all should be aware of after all the fluctuations it experienced this year. Surging and dropping oil prices, changes to federal regulations, availability and so many other factors may affect how the entire sector, not just a stock or two, perform.

Best Performing Stocks To Watch For 2015: Peabody Energy Corporation(BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in the mining of coal. It mines, prepares, and sells thermal coal to electric utilities and metallurgical coal to industrial customers. The company owns interests in 30 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia, as well as owns joint venture interest in a Venezuela mine. It is also involved in marketing, brokering, and trading coal. In addition, the company develops a mine-mouth coal-fueled generating plant; and Btu Conversion projects that are designed to convert coal to natural gas or transportation fuels; and clean coal technologies. As of December 31, 2011, it had 9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Coal stocks Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), Arch Coal (ACI) and�Peabody Energy�(BTU) are soaring today following China’s strong GDP reading and CSX Corp’s (CSX) solid earnings. FBR’s Mitesh Thakkar isn’t feeling too optimistic heading into earnings, however:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Yes, there are still more than two hours left in the day, but it’s New Year’s Eve and unless something crazy happens these five stocks look to be the worst of the worst in the S&P 500 in 2013. So let’s raise a big hand for Newmont Mining (NEM), Cliff’s Natural Resources (CLF) Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Peabody Energy (BTU) and Teradata (TDC).

• [By Robert Rapier]

  This is obviously an item of significant interest for fossil fuel companies and shareholders. In fact, in February several investor groups filed shareholder resolutions with 10 fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Devon (NYSE: DVN), Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) and Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), seeking an assessment of the possibility that some of their fossil fuel reserves may become stranded under a low-carbon scenario.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The�Market Vectors Coal�ETF�(KOL) dropped 21% last year, but has gained 6.3% during the past six months. Peabody Energy�(BTU), meanwhile, fell 25% last year but has climbed 27% during the past six months, Alpha Natural Resources�(ANR) declined 27% but has gained 41% and Arch�Coal�(ACI) plunged 38% but gained 25% during the last six months. Consol Energy (CNX) rose 20% last year and gained 19% during the last six months.

Top 5 Solar Stocks To Watch For 2014: DAQQ New Energy Corp.(DQ)

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon in China. The company sells its polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers for use in the processing of ingots, wafers, cells and modules for solar power solutions. It also produces and sells mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline modules to photovoltaic system integrators and distributors in China and internationally under its Daqo brand. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered Wanzhou, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).

Top 5 Solar Stocks To Watch For 2014: JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited(JKS)

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar power products in China and internationally. The company provides solar modules, silicon wafers and ingots, and solar cells, as well as processing services, including silicon wafer tolling services. It sells its products under the JinkoSolar brand name. The company?s customers include distributors, project developers, and system integrators. It trades its products under short-term contracts and by spot market sales. The company also produces accessory materials for solar power products, such as solar aluminum frame, solar junction box, aluminum materials windows, and other metal component parts. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and is based in Shangrao, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are JinkoSolar Holding Co.(JKS), Tyson Foods Inc.(TSN) and�AbbVie Inc.

Top 5 Solar Stocks To Watch For 2014: Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited(YGE)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and installation of photovoltaic (PV) products in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. The company offers PV cells, PV modules, and integrated PV systems, as well as polysilicon ingots, blocks, and wafers. It sells its PV modules to distributors, wholesalers, power plant developers and operators, and PV system integrators in Germany, the United States, Italy, China, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan under the Yingli and Yingli Solar brand names. The company also offers its integrated PV systems directly to end-users or to contractors for use in the electricity projects, as well as to mobile communications companies in the People's Republic of China. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Baoding, the People? s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Shipment and margin trends aren't usually isolated to one Chinese solar manufacturer so it's easy to assume that other companies will see disappointing numbers in the first quarter. The first two to watch are Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) and Canadian Solar� (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) , who round out the top three Chinese solar module suppliers with Trina. All three have high debt, low margins, and massive losses. �

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Chinese solar stocks have been up and down daily based on tariff rumors from Europe. But what will the impact be for major manufacturers such as Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL  ) , Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) , and Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) ? Solar analyst Travis Hoium goes through the two most likely possibilities in the following video.�

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (NYSE: YGE) was down, falling 8.36 percent to $6.36 after the company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Protective Life Corp.(PL), Tibco Software Inc.(TIBX) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co.(YGE)