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

International Bancshares Corp (NASDAQ:IBOC)

$6.87

Commercial Banks

2 Stars

363 of 400

UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 ProShares (NYSE:FXP)

$27.70

Funds

2 Stars

289 of 411

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of March 23, 2009.

Top-rated commercial banks companies:

  • Umpqua Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:UMPQ): Stock price is 26% lower than last year.
  • Royal Bank of Canada (USA) (NYSE:RY): Stock price is 30% lower than last year.

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