Based on the aggregated intelligence of 125,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, bad-debt collector Portfolio Recovery Associates (NASDAQ:PRAA) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Portfolio Recovery facts

Headquarters (founded)

Norfolk, Virginia (1996)

Market Cap

$354.5 million

Industry

Specialized finance

TTM Revenue

$263.3 million

Management

Co-Founder/CEO Steven Fredrickson

Co-Founder/CFO Kevin Stevenson

Return on Equity (average, last three years)

19.2%

Competitors

Asset Acceptance Capital (NASDAQ:AACC)

Asta Funding (NASDAQ:ASFI)

CAPS members bullish on PRAA also bullish on:

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN)

CAPS members bearish on PRAA also bearish on:

General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's), and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, 3,390 of the 3,489 members who have rated Portfolio Recovery -- or 97% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include nonzerosum and JMJeffrey.

Just yesterday, nonzerosum summed up the company's most recent quarter in bullish terms:

Solid results for a tough quarter and margin/productivity pressure. [Fair value] north of $50. A lot of bad news and worry is priced into the stock, and i think collections per hour will pick up after the recession. I was worried collections would fall off a cliff in Q4 2008 so i didn't invest till now.

In a pitch from late last month, JMJeffrey shares that contrarian spirit:

[Portfolio Recovery] is a great company and leader in its field of debt collection. Very solid leadership. It is very disciplined in the debt it 'buys' and continues to evolve in its ability to get a better return on its investment. Heavy buying the previous year has somewhat left this stock flat for a while but it is now poised to realize the benefits of it discipline and continuous improvement. Not a short burner but a long range grower and market beater.

What do you think about Portfolio Recovery, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 125,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.