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 120,000-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

ModusLink Global Solutions (NASDAQ:MLNK)

$2.69

Internet Software and Services

3 Stars

235 of 254

ProShares UltraShort Lehman 20+Year Treasury (NYSE:TBT)

$41.73

Funds

5 Stars

248 of 257

Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU)

$16.54

Road and Rail

5 Stars

302 of 308

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

Top-rated Internet software and services companies:

  • NetEase.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:NTES): Stock price is 3% lower than last year.

Top-rated funds:

  • CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE:FXY): Stock price is 25% higher than last year.
  • POWERSHS DB MULTI SECT COMM (NYSE:DGL): Stock price is 2% higher than last year.

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