Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, bad-debt collector Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRAA -0.52%) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Portfolio Recovery facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Norfolk, Va. (1996)

Market Cap

$1.7 billion

Industry

Diversified support services

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$520.4 million

Management

Co-Founder/Chairman/CEO Steven Fredrickson
Co-Founder/CFO Kevin Stevenson

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

16.7%

Cash/Debt

$42.6 million / $292.9 million

Competitors

Asta Funding (ASFI)
GC Services Limited Partnership
NCO Group

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

On CAPS, 97% of the 3,119 members who have rated Portfolio Recovery believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Earlier this week, one of those Fools, tiomiguel, succinctly summed up the Portfolio Recovery bull case for our community: "Passes screens for P/E vs. both expected and projected EPS growth, as well as those based on Warren Buffett's EPS growth and Return-on-Equity metrics. Also, in this cruddy economy, debt collection is sadly going to be a good bet for some time to come!"

If you want market-topping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future. Of course, despite its five-star rating, Portfolio Recovery may not be your top choice.

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