4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: United Technologies

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, aerospace and defense conglomerate United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) has earned a respected 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 United Tech's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

United Tech facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Hartford, Connecticut (1934)
Market Cap	$52.20 billion
Industry	Aerospace and Defense
TTM Revenue	$57.87 billion
Management	CEO Louis Chenevert (since 2008) CFO Gregory Hayes (since 2008)
Return on Equity (average last three years)	20.83%
Competitors	Boeing (NYSE: BA), Honeywell International (NYSE: HON)
CAPS members bullish on UTX also bullish on	General Electric (NYSE: GE), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)
CAPS members bearish on UTX also bearish on	General Motors (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor (NYSE: F)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 1,192 of the 1,235 members who have rated United Tech -- some 97% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include DemonDoug and tiredofbeinbroke.

Two weeks ago, DemonDoug had this to say of United Tech: "Solid company, good earnings, good dividend, will weather the storm and continue to be profitable."

An earlier pitch from tiredofbeinbroke in August shares that sentiment, elaborating on the stock's big long-term tailwind:

[United Technologies] is positioned to be the leader in building systems and aerospace technologies. Their focus on being "green" and creating new ways to protect the environment will be a huge factor in their future success. As the world turns to green companies, and the government enforces companies going green, [United Tech] will be light years ahead of the game.

Being a conglomerate, it will also offer nice diversification to a portfolio.

With moderate debt on the books and high return on equity, I see this company to be a strong buy for the long term.

What do you think about United Tech, 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.

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