Based on the aggregated intelligence of 150,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, offshore drilling contractor Noble (NYSE:NE) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Noble facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Baar, Switzerland (1921)

Market Cap

$10.4 billion

Industry

Oil and gas drilling

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$3.6 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO David Williams (since 2008)

CFO Thomas Mitchell (since 2006)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

30.8%

Cash/Debt

$736 million / $751 million

Competitors

Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO)

Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR)

CAPS Members Bullish on NE Also Bullish on

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK)

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX)

CAPS Members Bearish on NE Also Bearish on

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's), Yahoo! Finance, and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 98.7% of the 2,065 members who have rated Noble believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include SoNovel and Trojanfan.

Just two weeks ago, SoNovel kindly informed Fools that Noble "sports an enviable balance sheet and just capped a solid 2009 with better than expected Q4 results that shouldn't surprise anyone who's tracked this beauty." Our CAPS member concludes: "Don't look for [Noble] to rocket up quickly, but you can feel secure with it as a major component of any well-diversified portfolio."

In a pitch from one month earlier, Trojanfan drilled even deeper. Here's an excerpt:

What a great company at a STUNNINGLY reasonable valuation. Especially stunning in this artificially enhanced and frothy market we're in. The US economy will languish next year, but our oil demand will remain reasonably firm and demand in the emerging world will grow. Also, dollar sentiment will continue to deteriorate throughout most of 2010. ... This will make deep water drilling projects economically viable once again and continue to drive demand for Noble Corp's services.

What do you think about Noble, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!