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 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

Fools Saying Outperform

Research

American Eagle (NYSE:AEO)

$11.87

Retail

****

2486 of 2606

Research

Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW)

$25.58

Industrial

*****

1048 of 1069

Research

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)

$89.61

Automotive

****

2786 of 2950

Research

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

Other five-star industrial companies

  • ABB Ltd (NYSE:ABB) -- up 13% in past year.
  • Terex Corp (NYSE:TEX) -- stock price is 51.7% cheaper than last year.

Other five-star automotive companies

  • Wonder Auto Technology (NASDAQ:WATG) -- up 22.1% in the last year.
  • SORL Auto Parts (NASDAQ:SORL) -- stock price is 24% cheaper than last year.

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