BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust (BTZ): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is BTZ undervalued?

BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust (BTZ) closed at 9.43 on 16 Oct 2026. The GLS average fair value - the simple average of the 9 valuation models that produced a positive number - is 25.55, which puts the price 63% below it. 8 of the 9 models value the shares above the current price. A gap this wide is rare in our universe of ~7,400 US stocks and is exactly what the Value part of the Wheel Score rewards; it is also where the question "why is it this cheap?" matters most.

The 9 models disagree widely: DCF gives 5.49 while Graham Growth gives 52.77. A spread that wide means the average is sensitive to which methods you trust; the model table below shows where each one lands, and the Quote page lets you switch any of them off.

The nightly engine files BTZ under High Yield Income: a dividend yield above 4%.

Nine valuation models for BTZ

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

Financial health is average - BTZ passes 6 of the nine Piotroski tests, which passes the Sunday Scan's "6 or more" rule. The Financials tab on the Quote page shows which tests fail. The GLS Moat score is low at 3.1 out of 10, which says the ten-year record of revenue, earnings, margins and returns on capital has been inconsistent - growth and shocks rather than steady compounding.

Returns on capital are moderate - ROIC 6.4%, ROE 9.7%, ROA 5.8% - with debt at 0.51 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 19.3%.

The dividend yield is high at 10.68% (payout ratio 164%) - a payout above 100% of earnings, which is not covered by profits. A yield this size is often the market's way of pricing a risk to the payout, so the health score and cash flow matter more than usual.

Institutional ownership scores 5/10, insider activity 5/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 39: No options

BTZ has no listed options in the nightly snapshot, so there is nothing to sell and the stock cannot be wheeled however good the business; the Wheel Score is capped at 39 and shown as "No options" (39 here). The valuation and quality numbers still apply to owning the shares outright.

Volume runs at 420k shares a day on a market cap of $880M, with a beta of 0.76 - a low beta, so day-to-day moves are smaller than the market's; the Stability part of the Wheel Score gives that 12 of 20.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls; it is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. The walkthrough lesson shows how the score fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

No upcoming earnings date is recorded for BTZ in the nightly calendar. The shares go ex-dividend on 13 Nov 2026 (0.0839 per share), so a covered call sold before then carries a small early-assignment risk around that date.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

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