Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, consumer-staples giant Unilever (NYSE: UL) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Unilever facts

Headquarters (Founded) London (1885)
Market Cap $87.84 billion
Industry Packaged foods
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $57.86 billion
Management CEO Paul Polman (since December 2008)
CFO Jean-Marc Huet (since January 2010)
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 36.1%
Cash/Debt $4.88 billion / $15.36 billion
Dividend Yield 3.8%
Competitors Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT)
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL)

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

On CAPS, 97% of the 790 members who have rated Unilever believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include BleuBelle and ExPat007.

This past summer, BleuBelle tapped the stock as a stable income opportunity: 

[Unilever] is a great pick for a long-term investment. A diverse, multi-national company with highly popular product offerings for a variety of budgets -- everyone has [Unilever] products in their house. Buy and hold; enjoy dividends in the meanwhile.

Unilever's massive size and wide range of popular brands -- even fuller now with its recent purchase of hair-care specialist Alberto-Culver (NYSE: ACV) -- continue to fuel its five-star status. Currently, Unilever also sports a higher dividend yield (3.8%) than consumer goods giants Procter & Gamble (3%), Colgate (2.8%), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (3.4%), as well as packaged food foes Kraft (3.6%) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS) (3%), making it a relatively inexpensive opportunity. When you add Unilever's expansive global reach, the stock just seems like an ideal way to diversify out of the dollar.

CAPS member ExPat007 explains:

I have lived and worked in 18 countries in the past 14 years ranging from Central and South America, the Caribbean, West Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, South East Asia, and Central Asia, and Unilever was in all of them. I also by chance happened to meet several of the country managers and they were usually picked from the region but stood head and shoulders above the norm.
Their products are great and the same where ever I have been -- their ice cream, Magnums and Vienetta are fantastic and their cleaning products are good and priced to the local market, I think they are a good diversification platform and will perform for years to come.

What do you think about Unilever, 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!