5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Ensco International

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 135,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, contract driller Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Ensco facts

Headquarters (founded)	Dallas, Texas (1975)
Market Cap	$5.54 billion
Industry	Oil and gas drilling
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$2.4 billion
Management	CEO Daniel Rabun (since 2007) CFO James Swent, III (since 2003)
Return on Equity (average, last three years)	26.8%
Competitors	Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) Noble (NYSE: NE)
CAPS members bullish on ESV also bullish on	Transocean (NYSE: RIG) Vale (NYSE: VALE)
CAPS members bearish on ESV also bearish on	Ford (NYSE: F) Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 965 of the 981 members who have rated Ensco -- some 98% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star MJKpayday, who is ranked in the top 2% of our community, and iamgreatness.

Two days ago, MJKpayday listed five of Ensco's bullish features:

Found this through the CAPS screener

- Near tangible book value market cap.
- Single digit P/E
- Has remained profitable despite depressed oil prices
- 5 Star rating
- Tenured management

In an earlier pitch from April, iamgreatness drills down a little deeper:

Ensco has a huge net profit margin of 47%, their balance sheet is extremely strong with almost zero debt, and their [ROE] has been above 20% for the past 3 years. They have also managed their cash flows extremely well.

Usually, a major problem with companies like these are the huge capital expenditures they have to deal with. However, for the last 3 years, Ensco has kept their capex well below their net income and they are generating lots of cash.

The energy field will always be important. I don't see us getting away from oil soon. When you consider that and the fact that about two thirds of our planet is covered in water, you see how great a business model this is. Ensco has a modern fleet and this market sector has high barriers of entry.

What do you think about Ensco, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 135,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.