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

 

 

 

 

 

3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

$66.60

Conglomerates

5 Stars

3153 of 3254

Chesapeake Energy Corp (NYSE:CHK)

$32.26

Independent Oil & Gas

5 Stars

5165 of 5300

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Sept. 29, 2008.

Top-rated industrial metals & minerals companies:

  • International Coal Group, Inc. (NYSE:ICO): Stock price is 28% higher than last year.
  • Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP): Stock price is 6% lower than last year.

Top-rated conglomerates companies:

  • Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (NYSE:TMO): Stock price is 6% lower than last year.
  • Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE:LUK): Stock price is 15% lower than last year.

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