Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Embraer's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Embraer facts
| Headquarters (Founded) | Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil (1969) |
| Market Cap | $6.06 billion |
| Industry | Aerospace and defense |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $5.26 billion |
| Management |
CEO Frederico Curado (since April 2007) CFO Cynthia Benedetto (since January 2011) |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) | 15.9% |
| Cash/Debt | $2.08 billion / $1.95 billion |
| Competitors |
Boeing (NYSE: BA) Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 96% of the 632 members who have rated Embraer believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include ElBiotecnico and vonweizer.
Late last year, ElBiotecnico touched on a few reasons to climb aboard Embraer: "Short route demand will continue. Low price point of aircraft. ... Great position."
Embraer's market share leadership in the regional jet space, strong backlog, and solid financials continue to support its five-star CAPS status. Embraer's trailing-12-month cash king margin (9.7%) even tops that of rivals Boeing (6.2%), Lockheed (4.3%), and Northrop (3.9%), as well as other aerospace and defense plays like General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) (8.5%) and Goodrich (NYSE: GR) (8.5%).
CAPS member vonweizer elaborates on the bull case:
Better than competition on the planes they offer, more fuel efficient, more space, cheaper to run, good support. Increase in the flights in emerging economies brings business to Embraer, for example Azul Airlines in [B]razil which are expanding fast, uses Embraer planes, European airlines also use them for short flights, and business jets are a strong arm of [Embraer]. ... I think this is a good play long term.
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