Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, drybulk shipper Paragon Shipping (NYSE: PRGN) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Paragon facts

Headquarters (Founded) Voula, Greece (2006)
Market Cap $171.5 million
Industry Marine
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $111.7 million
Management

Founder/Chairman/CEO Michael Bodouroglou

COO George Skrimizeas
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 15.2%
Cash/Debt $34.8 million / $319.4 million
Dividend Yield 6.4%
Competitors

Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX)

DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS)

Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE)

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

On CAPS, 97% of the 942 members who have rated Paragon believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include stockdoc00 and eremmell.

A couple of months ago, stockdoc00 tapped Paragon as a potent total-return pick:

The [Baltic Dry Index] as a whole is oversold right now. As the economy recovers, the BDI should also sharply rebound. [Paragon] is at a good value now and also has a nice dividend to tie you over until the bounce back.

Currently, Paragon even sports a rock-bottom P/E of 4.8. That represents a discount to shipping competitors like Diana (7.7), DryShips (23.2), and Eagle Bulk (9.7).

CAPS member eremmell expands on the outperform argument:

[Paragon] appears to be a well-managed dry bulk (i.e. iron ore, grain, canola seeds, etc.) shipping company that is solvent financially and provides significant returns to investors. They are starting to diversify into smaller handymax ships and larger container ships (for shipping finished goods). They have a very low level of debt, and an attractive share valuation. ... Since the U.S. won't have a double-dip recession, and the Chinese economy will continue with strong growth, I expect the need for dry bulk shipping to continue to improve, as well as the cost of that shipping. This all bodes well for [Paragon], which is still making a profit in these difficult times.

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