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 130,000-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 two such stocks:

Company

Today’s Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Maxlife Fund (OTC BB: MXFD)

$13.00

Consumer Finance

1 Stars

16 of 318

General Mills (NYSE:GIS)

$47.00

Food Products

4 Stars

769 of 816

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of March 19, 2009.

Top-rated consumer finance companies:

  • First Cash Financial Services (NASDAQ:FCFS): Stock price is 42% higher than last year.
  • EZCORP (NASDAQ:EZPW): Stock price is 3% lower than last year.

Top-rated food products companies:

  • Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO): Stock price is 2% lower than last year.
  • ZHONGPIN (OTC BB: HOGS): Stock price is 7% lower than last year.

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