Based on the aggregated intelligence of 125,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, natural gas producer Atlas Energy Resources (NYSE:ATN) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Atlas' business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Atlas facts

Headquarters

Moon Township, Pa.

Market Cap

$825.89 million

Industry

Oil and Gas Drilling and Exploration

TTM Revenue

$790.15 million

Management

CEO Edward Cohen
COO Richard Weber

TTM Return on Equity

15.2%

Dividend Yield

19.1%

Competitors

Linn Energy (NASDAQ:LINE),
EV Energy Partners (NASDAQ:EVEP)

CAPS members bullish on ATN also bullish on

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK),
General Electric (NYSE:GE)

CAPS members bearish on ATN also bearish on

Transocean (NYSE:RIG),
Atwood Oceanics (NYSE:ATW)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 605 of the 612 members who have rated Atlas -- some 99% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include fojaha and jcdukegrad.

Last month, fojaha reminded our community that Atlas is one of the "largest land holders in marcellus shale, PA. Land leases alone should send this company up. ... If lease values move up like in other shale areas, [Atlas Energy] could be sitting on a land gold mine + the gas."

In a pitch from earlier this month, jcdukegrad agrees, elaborating on Atlas as an appealing asset play:

It's amazing this stock is this low in price, the company has drilled 100 Marcellus wells this year! and has them or will soon have them hooked up to pipelines, and have the potential to drill 1000's more, low cost per acre for their leases already acquired, with significant hedges for this year and the next two years.

What do you think about Atlas, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 125,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.

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