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

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

Ultra Petroleum facts

 

 

Headquarters (founded)

Houston, Texas (1979)

Market Cap

$2.6 billion

Industry

Oil and gas exploration and production

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$863.6 million

Management

Chairman/CEO Michael Watford (since 1999)

CFO Marshal Smith (since 2005)

Return on Capital (average, past 3 years)

17%

Cash/Debt

$59.2 million/$2.2 billion

Competitors

Cabot Oil & Gas (CTRA -0.67%)

EOG Resources (EOG 1.51%)

XTO Energy

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

On CAPS, 97% of the 1,568 members who have rated Ultra Petroleum believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just yesterday, one of those Fools, All-Star RSue, tapped Ultra Petroleum as a particularly timely bargain opportunity:

Now is a worthwhile time to buy shares of this out-of-favor best-of-breed natural gas exploration and production company while the cost of natural gas is still in the doldrums. The share price of [Ultra] just hit a 5 year low, making this a good time to scoop some up on the cheap in order to be well-positioned in advance of an eventual [natural gas] recovery.

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