Highwater Ethanol

HEOL

Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials

Price

$17000.00

-250.00 (-1.45%)

Market Cap

$80.7M

Winston Score

Winston is curious

A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Apr 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Good

Cash Flow

Good

Stability

Exceptional

Valuation

Good

Dividends

Good

Track this stock — start free trial

Winston Score History

The full picture

Highwater Ethanol is a small company based in Minnesota that produces ethanol, a type of alcohol made from corn. Ethanol is mainly blended into gasoline to help fuel cars and trucks, so the company's primary customers are fuel blenders and distributors in the energy market. It is a single-plant operation, which is common among smaller regional ethanol producers in the U.S. Midwest.

The company makes money by selling ethanol and related co-products like distillers grains, which are sold as animal feed, and corn oil. It operates entirely in the United States, and with a market cap of around $100 million, it is a very small player in the ethanol industry. Profit margins are thin, as seen in its 8.5% gross margin, and the business is heavily exposed to the spread between corn prices and ethanol prices — when corn gets expensive or ethanol prices fall, earnings can drop quickly.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+9.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

>+1,000% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Strong earnings growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (3%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

24.4%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$28M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Highwater Ethanol is growing revenue at 9% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

−0.8% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 5K (2021) → 5K (2025)

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

15.6%

Thin — 15.6% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

11.2%

Modest — 11.2% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

12.5%

Good — 12.5% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+3.8%

Slow sales growth (+3.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

+379.0%

Earnings growing fast (+379.0% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

4/8 quarters

Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

68%

Modest — 68% of profit becomes cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

11.1%

Modest free cash flow (11.1%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.00

Conservative — low debt load (0.00)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

55.98x

Comfortably covers interest (56.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

2.6x

Attractive valuation — P/E 2.6

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

8.24%

Healthy income — 8.24% yield

Yield above 6% — often a flag the market is pricing in a cut.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

N/A

Data not available

Full breakdown available with your free trial

See every metric, trend, and what it means for this stock.

Try free

🔒 See full fundamentals and if they are improving or declining — click here for your free trial now.

Start free trial