Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000 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. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin and shouldn't be taken lightly; conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

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

Lockheed facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Bethesda, Maryland (1909)

Market Cap

$44.8 billion

Industry

Aerospace & Defense

TTM Revenue

$42.96 billion

Management

CEO Robert Stevens (since 2004)
CFO Bruce Tanner (since 2007)

Return on Equity (avg. last three years)

34.8%

CAPS members bullish on LMT also bullish on

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

CAPS members bearish on LMT also bearish on

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)
Boeing (NYSE:BA)
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 356 of the 370 All-Star members who have rated Lockheed -- some 96% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include NeroSagetrade and valuwarrior, who are both ranked in the top 20% of our community.

In 2007, NeroSagetrade noted that: 

[Lockheed] is another one of those perfect examples of how slow and steady gets it done. Lockheed is a lock (no pun intended) for getting a 2-3 billion dollar contract every few years. The government will always keep Lockheed busy and management knows how to lead Lockheed in the right direction.

A more recent pitch from valuwarrior in January of this year shared that bullish sentiment, listing many of Lockheed's leading services:

Best-in-class, leading-edge aviation programs needed by every U.S. service and tons of allies. Space programs set the platinum standard. Biggest U.S. Govt IT provider. Oh, I forgot, LMT does [intel], NASA and classified programs, as well! Defense and post-war recapitalization will continue to feed healthy growth.

What do you think about Lockheed, 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.