After spending more than six months at a near-perfect four-star rank, Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP) has impressed enough top-performing members of our 165,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community to return to its prized five-star status. A total of 332 members have given their opinion on the oil and gas transport firm, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Enbridge Energy Partners has seen some strong earnings momentum in recent quarters that has many CAPS members bullish on its future. The company followed up a strong first quarter with record second-quarter earnings helped by strength in its liquids segment. And similar to Kinder Morgan's (NYSE: KMP) increased dividend following its strong quarterly results, Enbridge upped its generous quarterly cash distribution as well.

Like Williams Cos.' (NYSE: WMB) many expansion projects to build a presence in key markets in the coming years, Enbridge looks to benefit from growth in the Granite Wash in the Texas and Oklahoma region with the purchase of processing plants and pipeline from Atlas Pipeline Partners (NYSE: APL). It also placed a couple of other large projects into service like the Alberta Clipper project and Southern Lights diluent pipeline in recent months that are expected to boost volumes. The strategy has been paying off with recent earnings momentum, even prompting the company to paint a rosy picture in its full-year earnings guidance. 

All the news hasn't been good, though -- the company has received increased media attention lately because of an oil spill from a ruptured pipeline in Michigan. Enbridge's ruptured pipeline carries most of the oil imported to the U.S. from Canada, but refiners that it serves such as Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO), and a Canadian affiliate of ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) called Imperial Oil, have so far reported minimal impact from its closure. Enbridge has been working on cleanup efforts and has also filed to gain regulatory approval to restart the line, though no go-ahead has been given yet. Despite the setback, an expanding network of pipelines and a solid dividend have many CAPS members sold on Enbridge Energy's prospects.

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