5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Ultra Petroleum

Updated

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, natural gas-focused explorer Ultra Petroleum (NYS: UPL) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Ultra facts

Headquarters (founded)

Houston (1979)

Market Cap

$3.6 billion

Industry

Oil and gas exploration and production

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$1.1 billion

Management

Chairman/CEO Michael Watford (since 1999)

CFO Marshal Smith (since 2005)

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

11.1%

Cash/Debt

$11.3 million / $1.9 billion

Competitors

Cabot Oil & Gas

EOG Resources

XTO Energy


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

On CAPS, 97% of the 1,476 members who have rated Ultra believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

A few weeks ago, one of those bulls, fellow Fool Buck Hartzell (TMFBuck), tapped Ultra as a particularly timely opportunity:

Gas is at $2.50 and it's been down for sometime. I believe if it stays down demand will increase vs. oil etc. Why would you pay $4 per gallon when you can run a car on natural gas and pay $1 per gallon? If demand doesn't pick up, supply will eventually go offline. [Ultra] is very profitable at $5 gas, which I think we'll see in not too long.

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. Of course, despite its five-star rating, Ultra may not be your top choice.

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Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the newTrackPoisedTo CAPS account.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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