Five Winning Stocks

Being a clean energy company is good for business. FPL and its parent company, FPL Group, operate one of the cleanest electricity generating operations in the nation, with among the lowest rates of power plant air emissions. This may benefit FPL under congressionally proposed cap and trade programs.

The stock's 12-month total return exceeds 60% as of April 12. Expect the company to release earnings on April 30.

These three stories have all been relative winners in the last 12 months. To provide some balance, here are two stocks that initially took off after the ratings change but have not done as well during the last 12 months.

• Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO Quote) (Energy)

This stock has earned a buy rating from us for the past two years. After initially breaking out in 2006, the stock has settled down in the $80 range. This mirrors the daily pricing of offshore rigs, which peaked in 2006 as natural gas prices hit new highs.

Diamond Offshore is one of the largest players in the contract drilling space, along with TransOcean (RIG Quote), Globalsantafe (GSF Quote), Nabors Industries (NBR Quote) and Noble (NE Quote). The company is expected to post impressive financial performance in the coming quarters, given the surge in day rates for its rigs and a continuing favorable industry outlook.