Is a stock hitting a fresh low 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 110,000-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 (indicated by four- and five-star ratings) could be a sign that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

 

Today's Low

Industry

CAPS Rating

Fools Saying Outperform

Omniture, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMTR)

$16.30

Computer Software & Services

****

1,373 of 1,412

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE:ADM)

$25.40

Food & Beverages

****

1,412 of 1,516

Golden Star Resources Ltd. (USA) (NYSE:GSS)

$2.11

Metals & Mining

****

693 of 734

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Aug. 5, 2008.

Five-Star Food & Beverage Companies

  • The J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE:SJM) -- stock price is down 12.5% in the past year.
  • Balchem Corp. (NASDAQ:BCPC) -- up 42.6% in the past year.

Five-Star Metals & Mining Companies

  • Gerdau S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:GGB) -- up 64% in the past year.
  • Metalico, Inc. (NYSE:MEA) -- up 81.6% in the past year.

Come and join us on CAPS to learn more about these and countless other interesting stock ideas. Click here to sign up.