Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares (VWESX): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is VWESX undervalued?

VWESX closed at 6.98 on 16 Oct 2026, more than 30% above the GLS average fair value of 2.93. Only 0 of the 2 models that produced a value sit above the price. By our models the shares are priced well beyond what the filed earnings, cash flow and book value support; the Sunday Scan drops names like this at the "below fair value" rule.

The average is built from just 2 models (10 Cap, DDM) - the rest returned nothing because an input they need (dividends, free cash flow, book value) is zero or negative - so treat it with more caution than usual.

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

Nine valuation models for VWESX

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

Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares scores 6 of 9 on the Piotroski F-score: a middling result that passes the Sunday Scan's "6 or more" rule. Some of the nine tests on profitability, leverage and efficiency are failed, so the accounts are worth a look before selling a put on the name. A GLS Moat score of 4.6/10 is a weak reading: the ten-year history the score grades (revenue, EPS, book value, margins, cash flow, share count, ROIC) has not been steady, so the Moat part of the Wheel Score contributes little.

Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC 1.4%, ROE 2.3%, ROA 1.4% - with debt at 0.64 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 0.1%.

The dividend yield is high at 5.54% (payout ratio 160%) - 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 30: No options

No options are listed on Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares in our nightly snapshot. The Wheel Score is therefore capped at 39 (it reads 30) and the stock is left out of every options screen; the fair value and health figures above are still useful for a plain stock position.

Volume runs at - a day on a market cap of $9.8B, with a beta of 1.99 - 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 9 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 VWESX 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 Vanguard Long-Term Investment-Grade Fund Investor Shares 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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