Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, warehouse club operator BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

BJ's facts

Headquarters (Founded) Natick, Mass. (1996)
Market Cap $2.5 billion
Industry Hypermarkets and super centers
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $10.82 billion
Management

CEO Laura Sen (since 2009)

CFO Frank Forward (since 2007)
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 11.9%
Cash/Debt $65.8 million / $696,000
Competitors

Costco Wholesale (Nasdaq: COST)

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)

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

On CAPS, 90.5% of the 221 members who have rated BJ's believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include explainstuff and spenceraa.

Late last week, explainstuff touched on BJ's recent plans to unlock shareholder value: "I thought as soon as they put themselves up for sale, either a major player or a private equity would gobble them up. Books look neat, don't know why they haven't yet been taken up. ... Foresight, any deal would at least make 15-18% min. So, holding on."

Shares of BJ's have calmed down a bit since its buyout buzz-induced bump last month, but many Fools believe they remain ripe for a takeover. While it isn't as profitable as its main rivals, BJ's current EV/EBITDA of 6.8 -- lower than that of discounters Wal-Mart (7.3) and Costco (10.1), as well as fellow big-box Target (NYSE: TGT) (8.0) -- is still well within the range that usually has private equity firms salivating.

CAPS member spenceraa elaborates:

BJ is prime takeover candidate. (1) Private equity firm has already expressed interest. (2) Investment bankers already hired to conduct an auction. (3) Opportunity to improve margins with significant capital expenditures, which are best achieved (and rewarded) when privately owned. (4) Growth market in struggling/recovering economy, which is a happy downside scenario if the buyout never materializes.

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