MONEY WORKS FOR WOMENAT CURTIS MEMORIAL LIBRARY

READING A VALUE LINE REPORT

WHAT IS VALUE LINE?

“Our mission is to provide investors with the most accurate and independently created research information available, in any format they choose, and teach them how to use it effectively to help meet their financial objectives.”

WHAT DO THEY DO?

An independent, objective and unbiased professional staff of over 70 researchers, security analysts and statisticians, dedicated to the principles of objectivity, thoroughness and accuracy.

Provides data, research, tools, proprietary rankings, expert analysis

VALUE LINE REPORTS

3 parts, weekly: Summary & Index – great place to start Selection & Opinion – latest stock

market and economic stats and commentary; investment ideas; includes 3 model stock portfolios

Ratings and Reports – heart of the VL

VALUE LINE RANKINGS

Proprietary rankings 1 = top (best); 5 = bottom

Timeliness: expected price performance in coming 6-12 months

Safety: measure of risk Technical: expected shorter

term price performance (3-6 months)

Beta: measure of volatility

ANALYST COMMENTARY

Viewed by many as the most important part of the page, as often the raw numbers don’t tell the whole picture; in the commentary, the analyst explains why the stock has been ranked as it has, as well as discuss trends and potential for changes

FINANCIAL ESTIMATES

Estimates of sales, earnings, net profit margins, etc. are all derived from spreadsheets maintained by every company. The numbers are based on an analyst’s thinking about where a company may be in the future. The analysts regularly review their projections with the company’s management.

HISTORICAL FINANCIAL DATA

Many investors like to use this data to do their own analysis, using this historical data in the center of each report to see how a company has been doing over a long time frame. These numbers are helpful in identifying trends.

ANNUAL RATES OF CHANGE

Compound annual growth percentages for sales, cash flow, and other items for the past 5 and 10 years, and also VL’s projections of growth for each item for the next 3 to 5 years. You can see whether growth has been increasing or slowing and see what VL’s analysts think about the future potential.

TARGET PRICE RANGE

The range in which the price is likely to fall in the next 3 to 5 years, based on analysts’ projections for earnings times the PE ratio in the same period. The width of the high-low range depends on the stock’s Safety rank (high rank (safest) has narrower range; lower rank has wider range).

3 TO 5 YEAR PROJECTIONS

Potential high and low average prices forecast by the analysts, the percentage expected price change, and expected compounded annual total returns. To make these calculations, analysts compare the expected future prices with the recent price (top of report).

PRICE/EARNINGS RATIO

 Widely used statistic in investing, calculated by dividing current price by previous 12 months of earnings (trailing). Few investors will buy a stock without knowing its P/E. Most frequently, an investor will compare the P/E of one stock with that of another before making the decision to buy or sell.