Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, energy infrastructure company Williams Companies (WMB 0.40%) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Williams facts

 

 

Headquarters (founded)

Tulsa, Okla. (1908)

Market Cap

$20.9 billion

Industry

Oil and gas storage and transportation

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$7.7 billion

Management

CEO Alan Armstrong (since 2011)
CFO Donald Chappel (since 2005)

Return on Equity (average,
past 3 years)

9.2%

Cash/Debt

$431.0 million / $9.5 billion

Dividend Yield

3.9%

Competitors

Dynegy (NYSE: DYN)

El Paso

ExxonMobil (XOM 0.31%)

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

On CAPS, 96% of the 542 members who have rated Williams believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

A few months ago, one of those bulls, djohn1969, succinctly summed up the Williams bull case for our community:

Williams Companies is one of the best-run oil & gas infrastructure companies out there and is very shareholder friendly. For example, [Williams] currently pays a healthy 3.6% yield.

In addition to the value of the strong dividends ... Williams has eliminated a lot of risk by spinning off its exploration business. 

It's also important to note that [Williams] also owns 75% of its [Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ)] master limited partnership (including the general partner interest). So, owning the [Williams] parent company gives investors significant exposure to the value of [Williams Partners], but without the tax headaches of an MLP. And, considering [Williams'] stated dividend policy, I wouldn't be surprised to see it yielding in the 5-7% range like an MLP within the next few years too.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.