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

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today's Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (USA) (AMEX:NAK)

$4.23

Gold

3 Stars

398 of 421

Brasil Telecom Part. S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:BRP)

$51.38

Telecom Services - Foreign

5 Stars

327 of 335

Apex Silver Mines Limited (AMEX:SIL)

$1.99

Silver

3 Stars

325 of 353

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

Top-rated gold companies:

  • Rio Tinto plc (ADR) (NYSE:RTP): Stock price is 1% lower than last year.
  • Companhia de Minas Buenaventura SA (ADR) (NYSE:BVN): Stock price is 23% lower than last year.

Top-rated telecom services - foreign companies:

  • Philippine Long Distance Telephone (ADR) (NYSE:PHI): Stock price is 6% higher than last year.
  • Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNI): Stock price is 1% higher than last year.

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