Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, education and media company The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

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

Washington Post facts

Headquarters (founded) Washington, D.C. (1877)
Market Cap $3.0 billion
Industry Publishing
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $4.2 billion
Management Chairman/CEO Donald Graham
Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 7%
Cash/Debt $719.8 million / $567.3 million
Dividend Yield 2.5%
Competitors Apollo Group
The New York Times
Princeton Review

Sources: S&P Capital IQ; Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 22% of the 259 members who have rated Washington Post believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier this week, one of those Fools, bossman5000, succinctly summed up the bear case for our community: "If I had to pick one company to short, it might be the [Washington Post Company]. The newspaper division isn't going anywhere and counting on Kaplan, which has been dogged by controversy surrounding expensive classes and poor curriculum, is not sustainable."

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