Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Chinese oil and gas giant CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) 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 CNOOC's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

CNOOC facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Central, Hong Kong (1982)

Market Cap

$34.93 billion

Industry

Independent oil and gas

TTM Revenue

$17.18 billion

Management

CEO Chengyu Fu (since 2003)
CFO Hua Yang (since 2005)

Return on Capital (average last three years)

22.8%

Dividend Yield

7.5%

Competitors

China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE:SNP)
PetroChina (NYSE:PTR)

CAPS members bullish on CEO also bullish on

Aluminum Corp. of China (NYSE:ACH)
ChinaMobile (NYSE:CHL)

CAPS members bearish on CEO also bearish on

Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU)
Solarfun Power (NASDAQ:SOLF)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 1,083 of the 1,120 members who have rated CNOOC -- some 97% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include crichton1 and pjani06.

Four weeks ago, crichton1 had these bullish things to say about CNOOC: "good entry point for a Chinese oil company at 50% off, Chinese govt support is more effective with real cash as opposed to borrowed money in the US."

A more recent pitch from pjani06 two weeks later agreed, highlighting CNOOC as a stock that passes several screens for bullishness:

[B]oasts a GREAT dividend yield, paid out less than half of earnings to dividends, LOW DEBT, decent quick ratio (plenty of cash), ownership isn't fully loaded with institutions, great P/E, and great price to cash flow ratios.

What do you think about CNOOC, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.