Is HTLD a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores Heartland Express, Inc. on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how HTLD compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is Heartland Express, Inc.'s AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to HTLD based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes HTLD a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

HTLD - Heartland Express, Inc.

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Hold DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $13.00 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Cyclical & Capital-Intensive

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

D+ 39.2 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for cyclical & capital-intensive businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 15%

F 22.9

5yr Avg ROIC 4.6% 33/100
Operating Margin Trend -6.22 pp/yr 0/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

C- 44.6

5yr Avg ROE 3.9% 29/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR -0.5% 73/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 10%

D+ 40.2

5yr Revenue CAGR 7.3% 72/100
5yr EPS CAGR -56.4% 0/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 2/5 40/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

F 10.1

5yr FCF Margin -1.3% 18/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion -0.93x 0/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 25%

C 56.4

Net Debt / EBITDA 1.39x 79/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) -4.93x 0/100
Altman Z-Score 3.23 83/100

Stability

Weight: 20%

C- 47.3

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.44 38/100
Piotroski F-Score 6 67/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 3/5 40/100

2 of 2 gurus held; 1 new buy; 1 trimmed.

Holders: 2 +1
Avg Δ position: -59.0%
New buys: 1
Full exits: 0

Greenblatt new
Cooperman decreased -59%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (15%) — 5yr Avg ROIC, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (15%) — 5yr Avg ROE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (10%) — 5yr Revenue CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Revenue-Growth Years (5)
Cash Generation (15%) — 5yr FCF Margin, 5yr FCF/NI Conversion
Balance Sheet (25%) — Net Debt / EBITDA, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int), Altman Z-Score
Stability (20%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.