4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: ExxonMobil

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 110,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, oil and gas gorilla ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has earned a respectable four-star ranking. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin and shouldn't be taken lightly. Conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

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

Exxon facts

Headquarters	Irving, Texas (1870)
Market Cap	$426.3 billion
Industry	Integrated Oil & Gas
TTM Revenue	$389.3 billion
Management	CEO Rex Tillerson (since 2006) CFO Donald Humphreys (since 2004)
Return on Equity (avg. last three years)	35%
CAPS members bullish on GE also bullish on	Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) General Electric (NYSE: GE)
CAPS members bearish on GE also bearish on	General Motors (NYSE: GM) Chevron (NYSE: CVX) Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)

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

Over on CAPS, some 95% of the 1,321 All-Star members who have rated Exxon believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include RobertVBolton and Buffal0Bill, both of whom are ranked in the top 15% of our community.

In February, RobertVBolton noted:

With no real alternative that is cost effective, oil is here to stay for a while. Also with the increased demand for the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] countries, Exxon has the potential for great returns over the next few years. Top it off with the dividend the stock pays, this is great for a long term position.

A pitch from Buffal0Bill last month elaborated on that bullish reasoning, stressing management's shareholder-friendly ways:

ExxonMobil is an excellent company to own, not only for the obvious reasons related to the economy and energy supply and demand, but also because the leadership of this company aggressively protects shareholder value, using such tools as stock buybacks, throttling back on risky investments in exploration when the regulatory framework does not favor ROI commensurate with the risk, etc... [ExxonMobil] leadership has demonstrated the ability to protect the interests of shareholders better than most, and the need for energy is not going to go away no matter what the business climate becomes.

What do you think about Exxon, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 110,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.