Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, metallurgical coal producer Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Walter facts

Headquarters (founded) Birmingham, Ala. (1946)
Market Cap $2.8 billion
Industry Diversified metals and mining
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $2.8 billion
Management CEO Walter Scheller, III (since 2011)
Chief accounting officer Robert Kerley (since 2011)
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 43.7%
Cash/Debt $144 million/$2.4 billion
Dividend Yield 1.1%
Competitors CONSOL Energy
Drummond Company
Westmoreland Coal

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

On CAPS, 95% of the 1,583 members who have rated Walter believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.  

Just last week, one of those Fools, wil3714, tapped the stock as an attractive bargain opportunity:

[Walter] has been slaughtered even though it continually is profitable over the years. 2012 EPS is projected at $4.30 and 2013 EPS is $6.88. [Walter] trades at 9.6X 2012 and 6.8X 2013 estimates...No doubt the market is in turmoil and the sector in disastrous but the decline is over done.

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