This guide was created by Richard Haberstroh in the Department of Economics and Finance to provide instructions for his students in using the Value Line Internet site at Blackwell Library.   Last updated on 7-25-2008.

Value Line User Guide                                                                                                         

For further information & assistance, please contact our reference staff:

            In person, at the Reference Desk on the 1st Floor of the Blackwell Library

            By phone @ 410 548-5988

            Through e-mail, using Ask-a-Librarian

Instructions for Using the Value Line Internet Site at Blackwell Library
 

1.  There is only one PC in the SU library that has Value Line software.  It is located in the Research Room on the first   floor next to the photocopy room.  The PC is the third one on the left side as you enter the room.  If someone is using   this PC for other than Value Line or “First Search Data Bases”, the reference desk librarian can give you priority to  use the PC.

·        Log on to the PC with your User Name and Password.  You need this to obtain your printed reports.

·        See items #7 & #11 below where some of your stock selections may not be in the Value Line data base.

2.  To access Value Line, choose the Value Line icon from the desktop screen.  Under “Welcome” in the top left column choose “Log on”.  

3.  Read the new screen titled “Terms & Conditions” then check the first box stating “I herby agree …” 
4.  Now ask the reference desk librarian to enter the “User Name & Password” so you can access Value Line. 

5.   From the menu in the left column, click on “Standard Edition”.  

6.  From the menu in the left column, select “Lookup Company” or “Lookup Industry” (based on your needs). 

·         Value Line covers 100 industries approximately.  In comparison to the ten S&P 500 sectors, the Value Line industries can best be described as major subsets of the S&P 500 sectors. 

·         Value Line ranks the industries from 1 to 100, with number one being the best.  Please see item #13. 

Ø  Every month, approximately, Value Line does a ranking of about one-third of the 100 industries.  The PDF issue date shows in the bottom right column after the analyst’s name.  Thus, approximately ever three months, all 100 industries go through the ranking process.  

7.  If you are using “Lookup Company” click on “Lookup Company”.  Then enter a company ticker (symbol) and
    click on “Search” or just hit “Enter”.

·     Assuming the symbol is valid; the screen will now show the name of the company and the ticker.

·     Choose the PDF icon.  The library has installed the required Adobe Acrobat software for printing PDFs.

·     For the FINA 104 project, print the one-page PDF (Portable Document Format) report.  Then close the screen using the red “X” in the top right-hand corner.

·     You can additionally click on “HTML” to bring up and print the “7-page Company Profile” which is a  very good, easy to read report.   

8.  If you are using “Lookup Industry”, click on the Industry Name link to bring up all the companies in an  industry.  This screen also provides a link to the report that provides a detailed “Industry Description”. 

·     Click on the company name which is a hyperlink to bring up the company, and its one-page PDF report.   

9.  Close the screen and repeat the applicable step #7 or #8 for your remaining common stock tickers.   

10.  Please log off and also return the “Reference Librarian” notice that covers the screen so other users have priority
    access.  If you do not log off Value Line may not be accessible to the next user for 30 or more minutes.

11.  Rankings:  Value Line’s data base contains approximately 1700 common stocks.  Every stock is ranked from 1 – 5 (1 being best) on three distinct value measures.  The three value measures are: 

·         Timeliness:  Prediction of the stock’s price performance for the coming six to twelve months.

·         Safety:  Measure of the total risk of a stock relative to the universe of 1,700 stocks.

·         Technical:   A Value Line proprietary model to predict a stock’s short-term (3 to 6 months) relative  price change. 

Ø   The 1 to 5 ranking within each of the above three value measures are as follows:

·         1 – Highest                  There are 100 stocks ranked 1.

·         2 – Above average       There are 300 stocks ranked 2.

·         3 – Average                 Approximately 900 stocks are ranked 3.

·         4 – Below Average      There are 300 stocks ranked 4.

·       5 – Lowest                    There are 100 stocks ranked 5.

12.  Thus, a stock with a ranking of 1, 2, 4, indicates its Timeliness is 1, Safety is 2, and Technical rating is 4.   Very few stocks have all ones.  Stocks with a combination of ones and twos are excellent ratings.  Many  very good stocks will have all twos or two 2s along with a three.

13.  A quote from Value Line:  “Just one word of caution.  Stocks ranked 1 for Timeliness are often more   volatile than the overall market and tend to have smaller capitalizations (the total value of a   company’s outstanding shares, calculated by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the  stock’s price per share).  Conservative investors may want to select stocks that also have high  Safety ranks because they are more stable issues.”

  14.  Again, please log off and also return the “Reference Librarian” notice that covers the screen so other users have  priority access.  If you do not log off Value Line may not be accessible to the next user for 30 or more minutes.

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