Value Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:VALU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Value Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:VALU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 14,300 shares, a growth of 44.4% from the February 13th total of 9,900 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Value Line Trading Up 0.1 %

Value Line stock opened at $39.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.42 million, a PE ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.74. Value Line has a 12-month low of $32.94 and a 12-month high of $57.68.

Value Line (NASDAQ:VALU) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.97 million during the quarter. Value Line had a net margin of 62.02% and a return on equity of 24.00%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS.

Value Line Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Value Line’s payout ratio is 52.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Value Line

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Value Line by 340.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Value Line by 144.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Value Line by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Value Line by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Finally, Auxier Asset Management purchased a new position in Value Line during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors own 6.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Value Line from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

About Value Line

Value Line, Inc produces and sells investment periodicals and related publications. Its investment periodicals and related publications cover a range of investments, including stocks, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), and options. The company's research services include The Value Line Investment Survey, The Value Line Investment Survey – Small and Mid-Cap, The Value Line 600, and The Value Line Fund Advisor Plus that provide statistical and text coverage of various investment securities, with an emphasis placed on its proprietary research, analysis, and statistical ranks.