Based on the aggregated intelligence of 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, gold miner Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) 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 Barrick Gold's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Barrick Gold facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Toronto, Canada (1983)

Market Cap

$33.70 billion

Industry

Gold

TTM Revenue

$7.53 billion

Management

Founder/CEO Peter Munk

CFO Jamie Sokalsky

Return on Capital (average last three years)

9.8%

Competitors

Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM)

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP)

CAPS members bullish on ABX also bullish on

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX)

Vale (NYSE:RIO)

CAPS members bearish on ABX also bearish on

Goldcorp (NYSE:GG)

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 295 of 309 of the All-Star members who have rated Barrick Gold -- some 95% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These All-Star bulls include martynanasi and muirmm, both of whom are ranked in the top 1% of our community.

Two weeks ago, martynanasi noted that "Inflation will be on the rise shortly and the U.S. dollar in my opinion will be moving to be devalued. All these points toward gold prices moving higher."

A more recent pitch from muirmm just last week shared that defensive stance, elaborating on the stock's value storing abilities:

All the recently announced government bailouts will cause huge amounts of inflation, driving up the price of gold. That should be great for the stock prices of gold producers. Also, the prices of gold mining stocks have gone down recently far below the prices you might expect from looking at the price of gold, so they had reason to rebound anyway, even with no inflation.

What do you think about Barrick Gold, 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.