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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Value Line

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VALU. Auxier Asset Management bought a new position in Value Line during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Value Line by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Value Line during the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Value Line by 180.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Value Line by 340.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Value Line Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VALU opened at $39.65 on Tuesday. Value Line has a 1 year low of $32.94 and a 1 year high of $57.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.25 and its 200 day moving average is $46.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $373.42 million, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.74.

Value Line (NASDAQ:VALU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.97 million for 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 company posted $1.51 EPS.

Value Line Dividend Announcement

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

Value Line Company Profile

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.