Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Lockheed facts

Headquarters (Founded) Bethesda, Md. (1909)
Market Cap $26.2 billion
Industry Aerospace and defense
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $47.2 billion
Management Chairman/CEO Robert Stevens
President/COO Christopher Kubasik
Return on Capital (Average, Past 3 Years) 27.7%
Cash/Debt $4.57 billion / $7.04 billion
Dividend Yield 4.9%
Competitors Boeing (NYSE: BA)
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON)
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX)

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

On CAPS, 94% of the 1,873 members who have rated Lockheed believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include jdwelch62 and TrackFortune2012.

Earlier this month, jdwelch62 tapped Lockheed as a cheap way to play defense: "Very low P/E, great dividend, and with as many crazies who hate us out there, is the [Department of Defense's] budget really gonna get cut all that much? National defense will always be a priority."

In fact, Lockheed sports a cheapish P/E of 9.5. That represents a discount to competitors like Boeing (14.6), Honeywell (15.9), and United Technologies (13.9).

CAPS member TrackFortune2012 elaborates on the bargain opportunity:

A big hang over this stock is the expected cut to the U.S. defense budget. We know it's coming, the question is how much. But Fortune doesn't think the cuts will be that bad in an election year. And the company has a $73 billion order backlog plus expected earnings growth of 2% next year and 10% in 2013.

What do you think about Lockheed, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

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