3 Cheap Stocks Holding Their Ground

The recent market correction certainly doesn't make investors feel great when viewing their portfolios, but it does offer an opportunity nonetheless.

Despite the fact that over the past three months, the broad index has dropped by a shocking 10%, there are still companies out there that are holding their ground. To not drop with the rest of the market, companies have to be doing something right -- because between the European debt crisis, China's slowing growth, and the threat of a double-dip recession, you could justify a drop in share price for just about any stock.

So to find the stocks that have been able to fend off the unruly bears, I ran a screen of companies whose prices have actually increased by more than 5% in the past three months and that are trading for P/E ratios of less than 15. The following are three stocks I think are worth pointing out, in addition to the sentiment of our Motley Fool CAPS investment community:

Solar bouncing back
Solar stocks had taken a pretty bad bruising in the past year as concerns about a drop in European subsidies dragged the entire sector down. However, in the past few months, details have emerged that indicate the cuts in subsidies won't be as drastic as previously anticipated, especially in important countries like Germany, Spain, and Italy.

GT Solar has had an especially good month, reporting its 1,000th delivery of a DSS450 crystalline ingot growth furnace -- a pretty large milestone for the company. The delivery was for Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE); the two had signed a contract in February. One of the company's biggest competitors, Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT), has experienced a 14% drop in its share price over the same time. Just this past week, the company decided to close its thin-film product line, costing it more than $400 million. A lack of government subsidy, higher costs, and difficulty raising capital led to Applied Materials' decision to shut down the line.

Shippers improve?
Offshore oil tanker Teekay Offshore Partners hasn't had a bad couple of months, especially considering how bad it is for the drybulk shipping sector. The company had a great first quarter, increasing distributable cash flow to $27.6 million from $18.2 million in the previous quarter, and in turn, boosting its quarterly distribution of capital to holders by 5.6%. (The company has a yield of 8.1%.) Major competitor Frontline (NYSE: FRO) can't boast the same track record, having fallen by 9% over the past 90 days, although it does pay a superior dividend of 9.5%. Frontline had a solid first quarter, as it announced increased earnings because of an increase in time charter equivalents, in addition to a decrease in ship operating expenses. However, Frontline is a pretty volatile stock; as the economy has been on the mend, so has this company's share price.

Electric returns
Progress Energy provides electricity to customers in the Carolinas and Florida. Early in the year, electric demand went up by 3% compared with last year; in addition, Progress Energy received a nice upgrade from FBR Capital, with the analyst saying that "Safety is back in vogue given current macro concerns in the U.S. and Europe and a possible cyclical slowdown in China. Progress Energy is unlikely to lag peers with this backdrop." Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), which provides electricity in similar areas, has also managed to do quite well: Its share price has bumped up 5% over the same time. With impressive 5.8% dividend yields, both companies seem to be attractive to investors seeking safety and income.

The Foolish bottom line
During these turbulent times for the markets, it's great to find a few winners. Being able to locate recession-proof or defensive stocks is pretty invaluable, and with their pretty good short-term records, these three stocks may be worth a closer look.