Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, railway giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE:BNI) 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 Burlington Northern's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Burlington Northern facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Fort Worth, Texas (1994)

Market Cap

$34.10 billion

Industry

Railroads

TTM Revenue

$17.05 billion

Management

CEO Matthew Rose (since 2002)

CFO Thomas Hund (since 1999)

Return on Equity (average last three years)

17.2%

Competitors

Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI),

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)

CAPS members bullish on BNI also bullish on

General Electric (NYSE:GE),

Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

CAPS members bearish on BNI also bearish on

CSX (NYSE:CSX),

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 469 of 481 of the All-Star members who have rated Burlington Northern -- some 98% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include timvod and qspencer, both of whom are ranked in the top 20% of our community.

In April, timvod shared these bullish thoughts about the stock: "I feel the railroads are going to be the beneficiaries of an increasing unhappiness with truckers and the gas hikes. Great management team poised to have better than expected gains. Also, business coming through Canada."

A pitch from qspencer one month later agreed with that line of thinking, highlighting Burlington Northern's long-term tailwinds and bullishness from the Oracle, himself:

In the long term, fuel costs are not going back down. Rail is probably the most fuel efficient means of freight transportation, so the high cost of fuel gives railroads a competitive edge over other forms of transportation. Warren Buffett has started investing in railroads for exactly this reason.

What do you think about Burlington Northern, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 115,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.