Based on the aggregated intelligence of 145,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, media company New York Times (NYSE:NYT) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.

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

New York Times facts

Headquarters (Founded)

New York City (1896)

Market Cap

$2.0 billion

Industry

Publishing

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$2.5 billion

Management

Chairman/Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.
CEO Janet Robinson

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

(20.2%)

Cash/Debt

$28.1 million / $916.5 million

1-Year Return

79%

Competitors

News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS)
Gannett (NYSE:GCI)

CAPS Members Bearish on NYT Also Bearish on

Ford (NYSE:F)
Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK)
Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD)

CAPS Members Bullish on NYT Also Bullish on

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

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

On CAPS, 68% of the 155 All-Star members who have rated New York Times believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include kristm and TSIF, both of whom are ranked in the top 1% of our community.

This past fall, kristm forecasted more turbulent times for New York Times:

Print journalism is all but dead, the survival of this company depends on their ability to transition all their advertising and readership onto the Internet while still managing to make a profit. I doubt that's possible. The problem is made worse by the company's increasing lack of credibility in regards to not covering certain issues related to the current president and his friends.

In a pitch from last week, TSIF seemed highly skeptical of the stock's recent surge. Here's an excerpt:

The recession was a catalyst for the drastic media decline, but the reality was that the decline was occurring anyway, especially in newsprint. The internet, mostly free, and peoples' time to read print both played into the demise. The 25% upswing of the [New York Times] stock price is excessive speculation. Advertising may have bounced back slightly, but no election year, and minimum funding of auto suppliers will continue. … Overall, the [New York Times] is not as bad off as other media companies, but revenue continues to decline. Share price is above any reasonable expectations for the next several years and even then the [New York Times] needs to diversity.

What do you think about New York Times, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to protect your portfolio from any undue risk. Staying away from dangerous stocks is crucial to securing your financial future. On Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to flag them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!