Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, oil and gas producer Apache (NYSE:APA) 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 Apache's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Apache facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Houston, Texas (1954)

Market Cap

$35.65 billion

Industry

Independent oil and gas

TTM Revenue

$12.58 billion

Management

CEO G. Steven Farris (since 2002)
CFO Roger Plank (since 2000)

Return on Equity (average last three years)

24%

Competitors

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC)
EnCana (NYSE:ECA)

CAPS members bullish on APA also bullish on

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK)
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX)

CAPS members bearish on APA also bearish on

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM)
Chevron (NYSE:CVX)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 329 of the 344 All-Star members who have rated Apache -- some 96% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include GS751 and TheGarcipian, both of whom are ranked in the top 10% of our community.

In April, GS751 reminded our community:

About 70% of Apache's reserves are in North America. This eliminates political risk. NA reserves are usually older and harder to get but apache is a low cost producer which is nice. ... If Oil stays above $90 a barrel [Apache] should do well.

In a more recent pitch, from June, TheGarcipian shared that bullish sentiment, pointing out some of the stock's bargain-like ratios (which happen to be even cheaper today):

An oil-n-gas sector play, this stock should be a winner for some time to come. Given the present investing climate of rising oil prices and seemingly insatiable demand for oil, I think this stock, with its very fair PEG ratio of 1.09 and an incredibly low EnterpriseValue-to-EBITDA ratio of only 6, is a bargain right now....

What do you think about Apache, 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.