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Richard Sloan from the University of Michigan was first to document what is referred to as the "accrual anomaly". His 1996 paper found that shares of companies with small or negative accruals vastly outperform (+10%) those of companies with large ones.
Value Line's Sloan Ratio for the quarter that ended in Apr. 2026 was 12.09%.
As of Apr. 2026, Value Line has a Sloan Ratio of 12.09%, indicating there is a warning stage of accrual build up.
A former University of Michigan researcher, Richard Sloan's 1996 paper found that shares of companies with small or negative accruals vastly outperform (+10%) those of companies with large ones. In fact, for the 40-year period between 1962 and 2001, buying the lowest accrual companies and shorting the highest accrual companies resulted in an average annual compounded return of 18%, more than double the S&P 500's 7.4% annual return over the same period.
If the Sloan Ratio is between -10% and 10%, the company is in the safe zone and there is no funny business with accruals.
If the Sloan Ratio is less than between -25% and -10% on the negative side, and between 10% and 25% on the positive side, this is a warning stage of accrual build up.
If the Sloan Ratio is less than -25% or greater than 25%, and this ratio is consistent over several quarters or even years, be careful. Earnings are highly likely to be made up of accruals.
As of Apr. 2026, Value Line has a Sloan Ratio of 12.09%, indicating there is a warning stage of accrual build up.
Value Line Sloan Ratio % Related Terms
Value Line Sloan Ratio % Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Value Line's Sloan Ratio % can be seen below:
* 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.
VALU vs DTCX, OTCM, MKTW: Sloan Ratio % Comparison
For the Financial Data & Stock Exchanges subindustry, Value Line's Sloan Ratio %, along with its competitors' market caps and Sloan Ratio % 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.
Value Line Sloan Ratio % vs Capital Markets Industry
For the Capital Markets industry and Financial Services sector, Value Line's Sloan Ratio % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Value Line's Sloan Ratio % falls into.
Earnings contain a lot of non cash earnings which is called accruals. The Sloan ratio is a way to identify firms with low non-cash or accrual-derived earnings relative to their cash flow.
Value Line's Sloan Ratio for the fiscal year that ended in Apr. 2026 is calculated as
Value Line's Net Income for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was 6.46 (Jul. 2025 ) + 5.682 (Oct. 2025 ) + 5.91 (Jan. 2026 ) + 3.578 (Apr. 2026 ) = $21.63 Mil.
Value Line's Cash Flow from Operations for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was 5.56 (Jul. 2025 ) + 2.952 (Oct. 2025 ) + 5.289 (Jan. 2026 ) + 4.782 (Apr. 2026 ) = $18.58 Mil.
Value Line's Cash Flow from Investing for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was -2.811 (Jul. 2025 ) + 10.164 (Oct. 2025 ) + 1.273 (Jan. 2026 ) + -23.952 (Apr. 2026 ) = $-15.33 Mil.
* 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.
Value Line (VALU) has a Sloan Ratio % of 12.09% as of Apr. 2026. Sloan ratio measures earnings quality based on the amount of accruals. View historical data on Value Line and its competitors.
Is Value Line's Sloan Ratio % too high?
Value Line's current Sloan Ratio % is 12.09%. Overall, Value Line has a GF Score™ of 72/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Value Line's Sloan Ratio % compare to DTCX and OTCM?
Value Line's Sloan Ratio % of 12.09% can be compared against companies in the Capital Markets industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Sloan Ratio % for a Capital Markets company?
A good Sloan Ratio % depends on the Capital Markets industry context. However, Sloan Ratio % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Sloan Ratio % mean?
A high Sloan Ratio % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Sloan ratio measures earnings quality based on the amount of accruals. View historical data on Value Line and its competitors. Value Line's current Sloan Ratio % is 12.09%. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Value Line stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Value Line (VALU) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $36.23, compared to a current price of $35.24 — trading 2.7% below its estimated fair value. The current Sloan Ratio % is 12.09%. Value Line's overall GF Score™ is 72/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Sloan Ratio % calculated?
Sloan Ratio % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Value Line (VALU), the current Sloan Ratio % is 12.09% as of Apr. 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 Value Line (VALU) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Value Line stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $35.24 is trading 2.7% below its estimated GF Value™ of $36.23.
GuruFocus considers Value Line to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for VALU:
Sloan Ratio %: 12.09%
GF Value™: $36.23 vs. price of $35.24 (2.7% below fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the VALU stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Value Line Inc is a U.S based company. It produces investment periodicals based on underlying research and making available copyright data, including ranking system and other information, to third parties under written agreements for use in third-party managed and marketed investment products and for other purposes. The company markets under brands including Value Line, the Value Line logo, The Value Line Investment Survey, Smart Research, Smarter Investing and a trusted name in Investment Research. Its only operating segment being Publishing.
72GF Score
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