Is PLOW a high-quality business?

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

What is Douglas Dynamics, Inc.'s AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to PLOW 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 PLOW 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.

PLOW - Douglas Dynamics, Inc.

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Buy DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $50.67 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Stable Earnings Power

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

B- 64.3 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for stable earnings power businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 20%

B- 65.8

5yr Avg ROIC 9.6% 58/100
Operating Margin Trend +0.96 pp/yr 84/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

B- 67.8

5yr Avg ROE 13.9% 76/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR 0.7% 52/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 15%

B 70.5

5yr Revenue CAGR 4.9% 59/100
5yr EPS CAGR 11.2% 79/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 4/5 80/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

B- 68.8

5yr FCF Margin 5.9% 54/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion 0.87x 87/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 20%

C- 50.6

Net Debt / EBITDA 2.32x 64/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 6.08x 69/100
Altman Z-Score 0.32 5/100

Stability

Weight: 15%

B- 65.8

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.24 65/100
Piotroski F-Score 5 56/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 1/5 80/100

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

Holders: 2 +1
Avg Δ position: +16.9%
New buys: 1
Full exits: 0

Greenblatt new
Wood increased +17%

How this is calculated

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

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