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

$5.0 billion

Industry

Oil and gas exploration and production

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$2.7 billion

Management

CEO Murray Nuns

CFO Todd Takeyasu

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

7.5%

Dividend Yield

9.8%

Competitors

EnCana

Paramount Resources

Suncor Energy

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

On CAPS, 97% of the 1,394 members who have rated Penn West believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just yesterday, one of those Fools, Investment16, tapped Penn West as a particularly timely opportunity: "In the next financial release, we will very well see the balance sheet much healthier than it has been in the past few years. Positive news on Natural Gas, and the commitment from the Canadian Government to bring crude to the market will give much improved future cash flows."

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