Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000 investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, energy giant Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

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

Canadian Natural facts

   

Headquarters (Founded)

Calgary, Canada (1973)

Market Cap

$40.70 billion

Industry

Independent Oil & Gas

TTM Revenue

$13.27 billion

Management

CEO Steve Laut;

CFO Douglas Proll

Return on Equity (avg. last three years)

22.5%

CAPS members bullish on CNQ also bullish on

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK),

Transocean (NYSE:RIG),

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX)

CAPS members bearish on CNQ also bearish on

Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH),

Walter Industries (NYSE:WLT),

United States Oil (AMEX:USO)

Sources: Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 377 of 381 of the All-Star members who have rated Canadian Natural -- some 99% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include mgrackin and pinti, both of whom are ranked in the top 20% of our community.

In 2006, mgrackin reminded our community that CNQ is in "a politically stable country and borders the USA, one of the biggest consumers of oil in the world. It has a long way to go with the oil sands project whihc has lots of growth potential."

A more recent pitch from pinti in December 2007 followed that bullish line of thinking, elaborating on the company's footprint in those oily sands of Alberta:

This dominant Canadian energy player should experience years of outsized returns. The first phase of the company's wholly owned Horizon oil sands project is on track for first production in 2008. The economics of Horizon's upgraded oil are promising, and the project should provide large resource opportunities with low maintenance capital requirements for several years to come.

CNQ might be a good play if it only involved the oil sands, but it is far more than that. It's actually a diversified, established, money-making energy company with gas and oil holdings so as to enable it to ride out various economic conditions.

What do you think about Canadian Natural -- or any other stock, for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 115,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.