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 (signified by four- and five-star ratings) could indicate that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today’s Low

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Internet Initiative Japan, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:IIJI)

$6.67

Internet Service Providers

5 Stars

161 of 165

iShares MSCI Spain Index (ETF) (NYSE:EWP)

$49.99

Closed-End Fund - Equity

2 Stars

97 of 111

Northgate Minerals Corp (USA) (AMEX:NXG)

$1.63

Gold

4 Stars

1,401 of 1,450

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Aug. 15, 2008.

Other Internet service providers:

  • EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ:ELNK): Stock price is 37% higher than last year.
  • priceline.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLN): Stock price is 38% higher than last year.

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