Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, aircraft components maker Precision Castparts (NYSE:PCP) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Precision facts

Headquarters (founded)

Portland, Ore. (1949)

Market Cap

$10.82 billion

Industry

Aerospace and Defense

TTM Revenue

$6.83 billion

Management

CEO Mark Donegan (since 2002)

CFO Shawn Hagel (since 2008)

Return on Equity (average, last three years)

25.5%

Competitors

Alcoa (NYSE:AA)

Allegheny Tech (NYSE:ATI)

CAPS members bullish on PCP also bullish on:

Vale (NYSE:RIO)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CAPS members bearish on PCP also bearish on:

D.R. Horton

Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN)

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

Over on CAPS, 1,292 of the 1,317 members who have rated Precision -- or 98% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Stars mtracy9 and TSIF, both of whom are ranked in the top 20% of our community.

In late March, mtracy9 wrote that Precision "has the reserves needed to weather the current economic storm." Our All-Star concludes: "As the economy begins to recover and as the Boeing (NYSE:BA) company begins to fill orders in 2010 for its Dreamliner commercial airplane, this company and its stock price should recover nicely."

In a pitch from last week, TSIF taps Precision as a solid way to play defense:

Precision Castparts Corp. continues to show that you can be in an industry that is affected by a recession, and if you are well managed and have a nice moat, you can still come out ahead. By specializing in complex components and special orders [Precision] has managed to keep its margins up and its balance sheets going up. Income year over year is down less than 10% in a business that is highly linked to aerospace, defense, as well as mining, construction and the dreaded automotive. ... Overall, coming out of a recession, it will be hard to beat companies such as Precision Castparts who showed their metal even in the worse of economic times.

What do you think about Precision Castparts, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.