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 (as signified by four- and five-star ratings) could be a sign that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today’s Low

Industry

CAPS Rating

Fools Saying Outperform

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE)

$42.20

Utilities

*****

271 of 277

Zoltek Companies (NASDAQ:ZOLT)

$17.75

Industrial

***

638 of 686

Guangshen Railway (NYSE:GSH)

$20.75

Transportation

*****

441 of 456

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Aug. 11, 2008.

Other five-star utility companies:

  • Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) -- stock price is 6.8% cheaper than a year ago.
  • FPL Group (NYSE:FPL) -- down 0.2% in the past year.

Other five-star transportation companies:

  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE:BNI) -- up 25.9% in the past year.
  • Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) -- down 1% in the past year.

Come and join us on CAPS to learn more about these and countless other interesting stock ideas. Click here to sign up.