When a stock hits a fresh low, it can either signal a dirt cheap dream stock or a dreadful stock to avoid. Separating the wheat from the chaff is difficult, but finding well-run companies at bargain-basement prices is a great way to accumulate a fortune over the long run.

With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to see what the community is saying about stocks hitting 52-week lows today. The community's approval (signified by four- and five-star ratings) could indicate that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today's Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI)

$6.84

Semiconductor - Specialized

3 Stars

423 of 457

Foster Wheeler Ltd. (NASDAQ:FWLT)

$38.57

Heavy Construction

5 Stars

1267 of 1292

Allegheny Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ATI)

$41.68

Industrial Metals & Minerals

4 Stars

976 of 1023

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Sept. 8, 2008.

Top-rated semiconductor - specialized company:

  • IXYS Corp (NASDAQ:IXYS): Stock price is 11% higher than last year.

Top-rated heavy construction companies:

  • Matrix Service Company (NASDAQ:MTRX): Stock price is 22% higher than last year.
  • Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ:PLPC): Stock price is 15% higher than last year.

Join us on CAPS to learn more about these and countless other interesting stock ideas.