Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, home heating oil distributor Star Gas Partners (NYSE: SGU) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Star Gas facts

Headquarters (founded) Stamford, Conn. (1995)
Market Cap $393.7 million
Industry Gas utilities
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $1.32 billion
Management

CEO Daniel Donovan

CFO Richard Ambury
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 17.6%
Cash/Debt $13.8 million / $137.3 million
Dividend Yield 5.3%
Competitors

AmeriGas Partners (NYSE: APU)

Global Partners (NYSE: GLP)

Inergy (NYSE: NRGY)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 226 members who have rated Star Gas believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star topsecret10, who is ranked in the top 20% of our community, and DonkeyJunk.

Just last month, topsecret10 tapped Star Gas as a solid income opportunity: "Insiders have been poring money Into this company for quite some time. ... With an annual dividend of 31 cents and a yield over 4%, this company looks to be a solid addition to any portfolio."

Currently, Star Gas even sports a cheapish P/E of 11.4. That represents a clear discount to rivals such as AmeriGas (17.6), Global (17.5), and Inergy (21.3).

In a reply pitch from earlier this year, CAPS member DonkeyJunk offered a balanced look at Star Gas:

Important to note that they are expanding their propane exposure, but primarily provide heating oil in the northeast. As oil prices rises, customers tend to look for other means of heating their homes. Customer attrition is a concern here. That said, I own shares of SGU, reinvest the dividend, and intend to hang on for a while. They have a good business team.

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