Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, dry bulk shipper Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Diana facts

Headquarters (founded) Athens, Greece (1999)
Market Cap $749.3 million
Industry Shipping
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $256.8 million
Management Chairman/CEO Simeon Palios (since 2005)
CFO Andreas Michalopoulos (since 2006)
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) 11.5%
Cash/Debt $395.3 million / $362.1 million
Competitors Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Navios Maritime

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 98% of the 2,524 members who have rated Diana believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.   

A little more than a month ago, one of those Fools, NJ7, highlighted several of Diana's positives:

I am a big fan of this stock. I ran through a number of shipping stocks, all of which were loaded down with debt and had poor equity and asset returns, as well as profit margins. But Diana shipping has solid margins, stopped its dividend as the global financial crisis was growing, built up a hoard of cash, and has weathered the storm well overall. Of course, it has taken a hit, but is in dramatically better shape than its competitors. If Diana can do this in a horrible market for shippers, it should be very successful when the inevitable global recovery/baltic dry index recovery takes place.

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