Stocks hitting fresh highs can either signal that a stock is on its way to greatness or that it has run its course. Even with the risk of the latter, searching for these outperformers can reveal companies that are doing something right, much to their investors' delight.

I'm a poet and didn't know it
With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 110,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to find stocks hitting 52-week highs 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 High

Industry

CAPS Rating

Fools Saying Outperform

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI)

$59.50

Electronics

****

184 of 199

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD)

$61.49

Consumer Non-durables

****

214 of 228

Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ:GTIV)

$27.37

Health Services

*****

110 of 113

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of August 7, 2008.

Five-Star Consumer Non-durable Companies

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) – up 6.6% in the past year.
Potlatch (NYSE:PCH) – up 9.1% in the past year.

Other Five Star Health Services Companies

Somanetics (NASDAQ:SMTS)– up 33.6% in the past year.
Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) – up 47.9% in the past year.

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