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5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Ensco

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-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 (1975)

Market Cap

$6.76 billion

Industry

Oil and gas drilling

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$2.11 billion

Management

CEO Daniel Rabun (since 2007)
CFO James Swent, III (since 2003)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

24.7%

Cash / Debt

$1.02 billion / $283 million

Competitors

Transocean (NYSE: RIG  )
Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR  )

CAPS Members Bullish on ESV Also Bullish on

Noble (NYSE: NE  )
Vale (NYSE: VALE  )

CAPS Members Bearish on ESV Also Bearish on

Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO  )
Select Comfort (Nasdaq: SCSS  )

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

On CAPS, 98% of the 1,013 members who have rated Ensco believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Stars greenwave3 and JakilaTheHun, both of whom are ranked in the top 3% of our community.

Just last month, greenwave3 singled out Ensco as a fundamentally solid find: "Good cash flows, solid balance sheet with huge cash cushion; excellent [price-to-sales] and [price-to-book] ratios relative to profit margin and return on equity, respectively."

In an earlier pitch, JakilaTheHun also helped Fools to drill into the stock:

What makes [Ensco] look particularly enticing is their low debt, great history of profitability, and position in an industry with strong growth potential. ... Operating cash flows have been very impressive, normally exceeding earnings. Free cash flows (FCF) are not quite as plentiful since Ensco continues to expand its operations; however, [Ensco] has managed to stay FCF-positive throughout most of the past five years.

Maybe the market is still somewhat sour on oil, but given the high dependence on oil in the US, and increasing dependence in China and India, I still believe offshore oil related services are a winner in the long-term.

What do you think about Ensco, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.


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Related Tickers

2/10/2012 4:00 PM
ESV $55.80 Up +1.18 +2.16%
Ensco CAPS Rating: ****
RIG $50.21 Down -0.32 -0.63%
Transocean, Inc. CAPS Rating: *****
SCSS $28.68 Up +0.06 +0.21%
Select Comfort Cor… CAPS Rating: **
NE $38.95 Up +1.37 +3.65%
Noble Corp CAPS Rating: *****
DO $62.76 Up +0.17 +0.27%
Diamond Offshore D… CAPS Rating: ****
NBR $18.98 Down -0.54 -2.77%
Nabors Industries… CAPS Rating: ***

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