When a stock hits a fresh low, it can mean that it’s a dirt cheap dream stock -- or that it’s 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 110,000-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 (those with four- and five-star ratings) could be a sign that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

 

Today’s Low

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Research

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)

$20.56

Computer Hardware

****

7,030 of 7,406

Research

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE:CBI)

$27.50

Materials & Construction

*****

1,049 of 1,072

Research

O2Micro International Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:OIIM)

$4.87

Computer Hardware

*****

156 of 164

Research

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of July 16, 2008.

Other Four- and Five-Star Computer Hardware Companies
Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX): Stock price is 22.7% cheaper than last year.
EMC Corp (NYSE:EMC): Stock price is 34.7% cheaper than last year.

Other Five-Star Materials & Construction Companies
Foster Wheeler Ltd. (NASDAQ:FWLT): Up 1.9% in the past year.
Fluor Corp (NYSE:FLR): Up 43.3% in the past year.

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