Based on the aggregated intelligence of 145,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, heavy equipment giant Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Caterpillar facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Peoria, Ill. (1925)

Market Cap

$32.5 billion

Industry

Machinery

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$32.4 billion

Management

CEO James Owens (since 2004)
CFO David Burritt (since 2005)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

34.9%

Cash / Debt

$2.2 billion / $6.4 billion

Dividend Yield

3.2%

Competitors

Deere (NYSE:DE)
Terex (NYSE:TEX)

CAPS Members Bullish on CAT Also Bullish on

General Electric (NYSE:GE)
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)

CAPS Members Bearish on CAT Also Bearish on

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)
Citigroup (NYSE:C)

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

On CAPS, 94.1% of the 5,028 members who have rated Caterpillar believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star BVDOP, who is ranked in the top 16% of our community, and SolitaireOne.

Just last month, BVDOP tapped Caterpillar as a good bet to keep crawling forward:

U.S Infrastructure needs. Some serious highway work will be happening in the future, and what better company than [Caterpillar] to supply dozers? Also, [Caterpillar] is highly involved in small gas turbines, which will rise is sales due to the cheap cost of gas, and increasing trend towards combined cycle power plants.

In an earlier pitch, SolitaireOne touches on the global trends working in the stock's favor:

Overseas demand in particular, is likely to be key for continued growth for Caterpillar. Even as fuel/ oil costs might rise, heavy construction and maintenance of said equipment isn't likely to decrease anytime soon. Besides, I'm a sucker for a strong DOW play that also pays me a nice dividend and [Caterpillar] does just that . I'd stay in for the long term on this one as we wait for a more sustained global market turnaround, in perhaps 18-36 mo.

What do you think about Caterpillar, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!