Nuveen Core Equity Alpha FundJCE -0.70%46 Piotroski F-Score is 2 as of Jun. 25, 2026, which is 50% below its 10-year median of 4.00. GuruFocus rates JCE with a GF Score™ of 46/100 and a GF Value™ of $15.42 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 7 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,601 Asset Management companies, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund ranks worse than 90.88% on this metric.
Warning Sign:
Piotroski F-Score of 2 is low, which usually implies poor business operation.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund has an F-score of 2. It is a bad or low score, which usually implies poor business operation.
The historical rank and industry rank for Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score or its related term are showing as below:
JCE'
s Piotroski F-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 2 Med: 4 Max: 6
Current: 2
During the past 9 years, the highest Piotroski F-Score of Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund was 6. The lowest was 2. And the median was 4.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (NYSE:JCE) Piotroski F-Score Explanation
The developer of the system is Joseph D. Piotroski is relatively unknown accounting professor who shuns publicity and rarely gives interviews.
He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in accounting in 1989, received an M.B.A. from Indiana University in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, after earning a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan, he became an associate professor of accounting at the University of Chicago.
He wanted to see if he can develop a system (using a simple nine-point scoring system) that can increase the returns of a strategy of investing in low price to book (referred to in the paper as high book to market) value companies.
What he found was something that exceeded his most optimistic expectations.
Buying only those companies that scored highest (8 or 9) on his nine-point scale, or F-Score as he called it, over the 20 year period from 1976 to 1996 led to an average out-performance over the market of 13.4%.
Even more impressive were the results of a strategy of investing in the highest F-Score companies (8 or 9) and shorting companies with the lowest F-Score (0 or 1).
Over the same period from 1976 to 1996 (20 years) this strategy led to an average yearly return of 23%, substantially outperforming the average S&P 500 index return of 15.83% over the same period.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Piotroski F-Score Related Terms
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Piotroski F-Score Historical Data
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Piotroski F-Score Chart
JCE vs XFLT, TDF, CFNB: Piotroski F-Score Comparison
For the Asset Management subindustry, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Piotroski F-Score data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Piotroski F-Score vs Asset Management Industry
For the Asset Management industry and Financial Services sector, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
*Note: If the latest quarterly/semi-annual/annual total assets data is 0, then we will use previous quarterly/semi-annual/annual data for all the items in the balance sheet.
Profitability
Question 1. Return on Assets (ROA)
Net income before extraordinary items for the year divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current Net Income (TTM) was 46.62.
==> Positive ==> Score 1.
Question 2. Cash Flow Return on Assets (CFROA)
Net cash flow from operating activities (operating cash flow) divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current Cash Flow from Operations (TTM) was 0.00.
==> Negative ==> Score 0.
Question 3. Change in Return on Assets
Compare this year's return on assets (1) to last year's return on assets.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's return on assets of this year was 0.18001514. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's return on assets of last year was 0.26350047.
==> Last year is higher ==> Score 0.
Question 4. Quality of Earnings (Accrual)
Compare Cash flow return on assets (2) to return on assets (1)
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's gearing of this year was 0. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's gearing of last year was 0.
==> This year is lower or equal to last year. ==> Score 1.
Question 6. Change in Working Capital (Liquidity)
Compare this year's current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) to last year's current ratio.
Score 1 if this year's current ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
* Note that for banks and insurance companies, there's no Total Current Assets and Total Current Liabilities reported. Thus, we use Total Assets and Total Liabilities to calculate current ratio for banks and insurance companies.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current ratio of this year was 330.23684211. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current ratio of last year was 775.31736527.
==> Last year's current ratio is higher ==> Score 0.
Question 7. Change in Shares in Issue
Compare the number of shares in issue this year, to the number in issue last year.
Score 0 if there is larger number of shares in issue this year, 1 otherwise.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's number of shares in issue this year was 17.265. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's number of shares in issue last year was 16.428.
==> There is larger number of shares in issue this year. ==> Score 0.
Efficiency
Question 8. Change in Gross Margin
Compare this year's gross margin (Gross Profit divided by sales) to last year's.
Score 1 if this year's gross margin is higher, 0 if it's lower.
* Note that for banks and insurance companies, there's no Gross Profit reported. Thus, we use net income instead of gross profit and calculate Net Margin for this score.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's net margin of this year was 0.99504781. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's net margin of last year was 0.99617493.
==> Last year's net margin is higher ==> Score 0.
Question 9. Change in asset turnover
Compare this year's asset turnover (total sales for the year divided by total assets at the beginning of the year) to last year's asset turnover ratio.
Score 1 if this year's asset turnover ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's asset turnover of this year was 0.18091104. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's asset turnover of last year was 0.26451225.
==> Last year's asset turnover is higher ==> Score 0.
Evaluation
Piotroski F-Score
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Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund has an F-score of 2. It is a bad or low score, which usually implies poor business operation.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE) has a Piotroski F-Score of 2 as of Jun. 25, 2026. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund and its competitors. This is 50% below median its historical median of 4.00. Over the past decade, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 2.00 to 6.00. According to the industry distribution chart, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund ranks #1455 out of 1601 companies in the Asset Management industry, placing it in the top 90.9%.
Is Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score too high?
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current Piotroski F-Score of 2 is 50% below median its 10-year median of 4.00. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 2.00 to a high of 6.00. The Asset Management industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's value of 2 is 60% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund ranks #1455 out of 1601 companies in the Asset Management industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund has a GF Score™ of 46/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's Piotroski F-Score compare to XFLT and TDF?
According to the Asset Management industry distribution chart, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund ranks #1455 out of 1601 companies for Piotroski F-Score. This places Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's value of 2 is 60% below this benchmark. Historically, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's own Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 2.00 to 6.00 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 4.00 vs. the industry median of 5.00, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Piotroski F-Score for an Asset Management company?
The median Piotroski F-Score among Asset Management companies is 5.00, based on 1,601 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Piotroski F-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Piotroski F-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current Piotroski F-Score of 2 is 60% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Piotroski F-Score mean?
A high Piotroski F-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund and its competitors. For the Asset Management industry, the median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's current Piotroski F-Score is 2, which is 50% below median its own 10-year median of 4.00. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $15.42, compared to a current price of $15.69 — trading 1.8% above its estimated fair value. The current Piotroski F-Score is 2, which is 50% below median its 10-year median of 4.00 and 60% below the Asset Management industry median of 5.00. Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund's overall GF Score™ is 46/100 with 7 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Piotroski F-Score calculated?
Piotroski F-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE), the current Piotroski F-Score is 2 as of Jun. 25, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $15.69 is trading 1.8% above its estimated GF Value™ of $15.42.
GuruFocus considers Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for JCE:
Piotroski F-Score: 2 (50% below median its 10-year median of 4.00)
GF Value™: $15.42 vs. price of $15.69 (1.8% above fair value)
Industry Position: 60% below the Asset Management median (#1455 of 1601)
No single metric tells the full story. See the JCE stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Business Description
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund is a diversified closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to seek attractive total return with less volatility than the S&P 500 Index. The Fund invests in a portfolio of actively managed large-capitalization U.S. common stocks, using the sub-adviser's proprietary quantitative process designed to provide the potential for long-term outperformance. Additionally, the Fund seeks to reduce the volatility of its returns relative to the returns of the Equity Portfolio over extended periods by writing (selling) index call options and/or call options on custom baskets of securities.
46GF Score
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