Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAINI): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is GAINI undervalued?

Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAINI) closed at 25.03 on 16 Oct 2026. The GLS average fair value - the simple average of the 7 valuation models that produced a positive number - is 101.73, which puts the price 75% below it. 5 of the 7 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 7 models disagree widely: DDM gives 14.13 while GLS Growth gives 414.75. 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 GAINI under High Yield Income: a dividend yield above 4%.

Nine valuation models for GAINI

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 - GAINI passes 5 of the nine Piotroski tests, which falls one point short of 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 high - ROIC 15.0%, ROE 27.6%, ROA 14.0% - with debt at 0.84 times equity and negative free cash flow.

The dividend yield is high at 6.27% (payout ratio 40%). 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 10/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 39: No options

GAINI 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 35k shares a day on a market cap of $614M, with a beta of 1.32 - a high beta, so the stock tends to move more than the market and a strike can be gapped through; the Stability part of the Wheel Score gives that 7 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

The next earnings report is due on 9 Nov 2026 (before the open), 24 days away; a 30-45-day put sold today would expire after it, which is worth weighing against the premium.

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

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The 12 companies below are the closest to Gladstone Investment Corporation by market cap within the Asset Management industry, each with its own fact sheet; the Compare page puts up to eight of them side by side.

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