Based on the aggregated intelligence of 145,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Brazilian mining giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Vale facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Rio de Janeiro (1942)

Market Cap

$122.2 billion

Industry

Diversified metals and mining

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$30.4 billion

Management

CEO Roger Agnelli (since 2001)
CFO Fabio de Oliveira Barbosa (since 2002)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

26.7%

Cash/Debt

$13.84 billion / $23.14 billion

Dividend Yield

2.6%

Competitors

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP)
BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP)
Alcoa (NYSE:AA)

CAPS Members Bullish on VALE Also Bullish on

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)
General Electric (NYSE:GE)

CAPS Members Bearish on VALE Also Bearish on

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97.7% of the 6,427 All-Star members who have rated Vale believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include georcole and GundersonGroup, both of whom are ranked in the top 16% of our community.

Just a few months ago, georcole singled out the stock as an ideal "play against the dollar." Our CAPS All-Star explains: "I feel that metals will hold up pretty well over the near term versus the dollar, while the government is not going to time it right when it comes to taking all of this excess money out of the world that they are so carelessly printing with reckless abandon."

In a pitch from two weeks ago, GundersonGroup adds to that opinion:

[Vale] represents an inflation and dollar hedge for a portfolio. As all governments around the world have an incentive to under report the actual inflation rates to varying degrees, the inflation linked bonds they offer are not a good hedge on inflation for an investor. As Vale is the largest supplier of high quality iron ore in the world, it is not a speculative commodity play the way some precious metal companies are which sell less than 20% of their product for industrial uses. All in all this stock represents a preferred inflation hedge and one within an emerging economy to boot.

What do you think about Vale, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!