Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, petroleum and natural gas company Penn West Petroleum (NYSE: PWE) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Penn West facts

Headquarters (founded)

Calgary, Canada (1979)

Market Cap

$6.5 billion

Industry

Oil and gas exploration and production

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$2.9 billion

Management

CEO Murray Nunns

CFO Todd Takeyasu

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

7.9%

Total Debt

$3.8 billion

Dividend Yield

8.1%

Competitors

Encana (OVV 0.45%)

Paramount Resources

Suncor Energy (SU 0.43%)

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

On CAPS, 96% of the 1,392 members who have rated Penn West believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last week, one of those Fools, All-Star Staka, offered a balanced take on the Penn West opportunity:

Positive:
-Close to tangible book
-High [dividend yield]
-Good momentum
-NatGas prices can only go up
-Has lots of land assets and reserves
-Analysts are pessimistic and we have seen a number of downgrades but the stock price kept rising which should be a bullish sign
Negative:
-Depends a lot on oil prices which are slightly overvalued at the moment due to political risk premium but QE will drive inflation and prices might stay high

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong four-star rating, Penn West may not be your top choice.

If that's the case, we've compiled a special free report for investors called "The 3 Dow Stocks Dividend Investors Need," which uncovers a few other juicy income opportunities. The report is 100% free, but it won't be around forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.