Stock fact sheet · data as of
The GDL Fund (GDL): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score
Ticker symbol GDL · Financial Services · Asset Management · United States · Shares of beneficial interest (trust) · Fund / Note
GDL trades as shares of beneficial interest in The GDL Fund - a trust rather than a company.
Is GDL undervalued?
GDL has a margin of safety of 54%: the stock closed at 8.34 on 5 Nov 2026 against a GLS average fair value of 18.24. 4 of the 7 valuation models that produced a number sit above the price. Our scans treat a discount this large as a strong starting point for a cash-secured put, not as a verdict - the fair value is a model output, and a wide gap can mean the models are missing something the market knows.
There is a wide gap between DCF (0.6738) and GLS Growth (42.40). When the models are this far apart the "fair value" is really a range, and the margin of safety above should be read with that range in mind.
GDL looks like a fund, note or preferred share rather than an operating company, so the nightly engine files it under Fund / Note: the valuation models are not built for it, and its Wheel Score is capped at 45.
Nine valuation models for GDL
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.
| Model | Value | vs price | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCF | 0.6738 | -92% | Present value of the projected free cash flows, discounted at the cost of capital |
| Graham Number | 12.91 | +55% | The most a defensive investor pays for the earnings and book value per share |
| Graham Growth | 39.61 | +375% | Graham's growth formula: EPS × (8.5 + 2 × growth), adjusted for bond yields |
| Lynch | 17.31 | +108% | EPS × the earnings growth rate (PEG of 1), growth capped at 25% |
| GLS Growth | 42.40 | +408% | EPS compounded ten years at the blended growth rate, discounted back at 15% a year |
| 10 Cap | - | - | Owner's earnings (operating cash flow less maintenance capex) capitalised at 10%; no value tonight |
| Payback Time | - | - | Eight years of compounded free cash flow: the price at which the business pays for itself; no value tonight |
| DDM | 7.06 | -15% | Dividend discount model: next year's dividend ÷ (10% − 3% growth); needs a dividend |
| EPV | 7.70 | -8% | Earnings power value: current EPS capitalised at 9% with no growth |
| Zombie (liquidation) | -1.88 | -123% | Current assets less all liabilities, per share: the balance-sheet floor. Not in the average |
| Wall St target | 0.0000 | -100% | Analysts' average 12-month price target. Not in the average |
Quality and financial health
No Piotroski health score is on file for GDL (the statements it needs were not available), so the Health part of the Wheel Score counts it at half marks - 10 of 20 - rather than marking the stock down for missing data. There is no GLS Moat score for GDL: funds, notes and second share lines get none, and so does a company with fewer than two years of accounts on file. The Moat part of the Wheel Score is zero.
Returns on capital are moderate - ROIC 6.6%, ROE 6.6%, ROA 5.6% - with debt at 0.00 times equity and negative free cash flow.
The dividend yield is high at 5.76% (payout ratio 70%). 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 1/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.
| Piotroski F-score | - / 9 | ROIC | 6.6% |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLS Moat | - / 10 | ROE | 6.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | ROA | 5.6% |
| Free-cash-flow yield | -4.3% | Payout ratio | 70% |
| Institutions | 5 / 10 | Insiders · Congress | 1 · 5 / 10 |
Wheel Score 26: No options
No options are listed on The GDL Fund in our nightly snapshot, so it fails the first Wheel Trade Filter (options that actually trade) (it reads 26, under 70) and is left out of every options scan; the fair value and health figures above are still useful for a plain stock position.
Volume runs at 11k shares a day on a market cap of $90M, with a beta of 0.24 - a low beta, so day-to-day moves are smaller than the market's; the Stability part of the Wheel Score rates that fair.
| Filter | Wheel Trade Filter | Result | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Options that actually trade | Fails | no listed options |
| 2 | A real business, not a gamble | Fails | a fund or note, not a company |
| 3 | Below fair value | Passes | Trading below the nine-model average fair value (margin of safety above 0) |
| 4 | Financially healthy | Passes | Piotroski F-score 6 or more out of 9 (a company with no score on file passes) |
| 5 | Can repay its debt | Passes | Long-term debt repaid from 3 years of operating cash flow or less (6 for real estate and utilities; banks and insurers are not judged on it) |
| 6 | No serious red flags | Passes | Red Flags score 60 or more out of 100 (earnings, margins, debt, analysts, filings and price checked the same way for every stock) |
| 7 | A premium worth selling | Fails | no implied volatility |
| 8 | Big enough | Fails | market cap $90M (under $1.0B) |
| 9 | Not a penny stock | Passes | Share price $5 or more |
| How it ranks | Rating | From | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Strong | 54% below fair value | |
| Premium | Weak | no option data | |
| Moat | Weak | no moat score | |
| Health | Fair | no Piotroski score on file - half marks | |
| Red Flags | Fair | not scored yet - half marks | |
| Option trading | Weak | no option volume data | |
| Stability | Fair | beta 0.24, $90M company |
The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls: a stock must pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters to score 70, and the score then ranks the ones that pass; the Sunday Scan is the top 10. It is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. How the Wheel Score works · the walkthrough lesson shows how it fits into a trade, start to finish.
Upcoming events
No upcoming earnings date is recorded for GDL in the nightly calendar.
Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.
Similar stocks in Asset Management
The 12 companies below are the closest to The GDL Fund 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.
| Stock | Close | Fair value | MoS | Wheel | Mkt cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMI RiverNorth Opportunistic Municipal Income Fund, Inc. | 14.05 | 29.70 | +53% | 26No options | $90M |
| MSSVX AMG Frontier Small Cap Growth Fund - Class N | 9.20 | 5.75 | -60% | 11No options | $89M |
| IGI Western Asset Investment Grade Defined Opportunity Trust Inc. | 15.47 | 26.70 | +42% | 29No options | $93M |
| SAX Saratoga Investment Corp. 8 % Notes 2026-31.08.31 | 25.28 | 32.50 | +22% | 22No options | $86M |
| SAMG Silvercrest Asset Management Group Inc. | 10.95 | 9.92 | -10% | 27Weak | $86M |
| AFJAX Virtus NFJ International Value Fund | 26.71 | 70.75 | +62% | 26No options | $85M |
| OXSQH Oxford Square Capital Corp. | 24.45 | 6.18 | -296% | 12No options | $95M |
| OXSQG Oxford Square Capital Corp. | 24.35 | 6.18 | -294% | 9No options | $95M |
| OXSQ Oxford Square Capital Corp. | 0.8855 | 6.18 | +86% | 23Weak | $95M |
| MGLD The Marygold Companies, Inc. | 1.97 | - | - | 15No options | $84M |
| HNNA Hennessy Advisors, Inc. | 10.53 | 17.10 | +38% | 35No options | $83M |
| RISE The 2023 ETF Series Trust - Pictet Emerging Markets Rising Economies ETF | 17.28 | 2.11 | -717% | 12No options | $97M |
⚖ Compare GDL with 7 of them All Financial Services stocks →
Scan the whole market the same way
A free GLS Equity account gets you nightly fair value and the Wheel Score on ~7,400 US stocks, a watchlist, the scanner preview and the Sunday Scan - the top 10 stocks that pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters, emailed every week. Pro adds the full put and call scanners, unlimited watchlists with alerts and the trade journal.
Start free See the Sunday ScanQuestions about GDL
Is GDL undervalued right now?
By the GLS models, yes: at 8.34 the stock is 54% below the average fair value of 18.24 (data as of 5 Nov 2026). Whether the discount is deserved is the question to research next.
What is the Wheel Score of GDL and what does it mean?
GDL has no listed options in our nightly snapshot, so it cannot be wheeled; it fails the first Wheel Trade Filter (options that actually trade), stays under 70 and is shown as "No options".
What is the GLS fair value for GDL?
18.24 per share as of 5 Nov 2026 - the simple average of the 7 valuation models (out of nine: DCF, Graham Number, Graham Growth, Lynch, GLS Growth, 10 Cap, Payback Time, DDM and EPV) that produced a positive value. The models run every night on the latest filings; the Quote page lets you switch any of them off and add a margin of safety of your own.
When does The GDL Fund report earnings next?
No upcoming earnings date is recorded for GDL in our calendar as of 5 Nov 2026; the Calendars page is refreshed every morning.
Does GDL have listed options, and how liquid are they?
No. The nightly options snapshot found no listed contracts on GDL, so the wheel strategy cannot be run on it and the Wheel Score stays under 70.