4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: ExxonMobil

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, oil and gas gorilla ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Exxon facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Irving, Texas (1870)
Market Cap	$409 billion
Industry	Integrated oil and gas
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$420 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Rex Tillerson CFO Donald Humphreys
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)	22.2%
Cash/Debt	$11.0 billion / $16.8 billion
Dividend Yield	2.2%
Competitors	BP (NYSE: BP  ) Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  )

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

On CAPS, 94% of the 8,247 members who have rated Exxon believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star TheMiracleDJR, who is ranked in the top 5% of our community, and LegendPhoenix. �

Just last month, TheMiracleDJR touched on Exxon's sheer scale:

Any company that racks up tens of billions quarterly runs the entire world. They sure seem a hell of a lot better than BP overall. A true Monster of Greatness.

In fact, Exxon's three-year average return on equity of 22% easily tops that of BP (9%), as well as other oil and gas giants like Chevron (19%) and Conoco (-1%).

CAPS member LegendPhoenix elaborates on the bull case:

My target: a company that reliably pays a dividend, grows slowly but surely and will still be around when I'm ready to retire. ...

[T]hey are the largest publicly traded company in the world with a market cap of over $400B. When I was young and reckless I though investing in this type of behemoth was like betting on a dinosaur to live through the ice age. As the world's thirst for oil continues and the potential for natural gas grows, I am changing my tune for ExxonMobil.

Lately there has been a lot of exciting news about oil and gas companies spinning off their pipelines, e&p operations and refining capabilities; yet ExxonMobil quietly lumbers along, performing all the tasks to get oil from the well to the pump.

What do you think about Exxon, 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!

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