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The Value Line Investment Survey is an extremely valuable investment research resource that I use all the time when researching dividend growth stocks. They have a paper and online version of the same content, that will normally cost about $600 USD/year or more, but I’m going to show you how to access Value Line online and for free along with a listing of which Canadian stocks they cover.
⭐ Find dividend growth stocks that have survived multiple recessions and increased dividends for 5, 10, 25+ years in a row.
The trick… check your library.
Some libraries will keep the paper version of Value Line available for in-library use only, but that means you have to trek into the library every time you want to do a bit of research. I’m going to focus on and list the select few libraries in Canada that offer online access to the Value Line Investment Survey for free. It is way more convenient being able to access this information from the comforts of your own home.
What is Value Line?
Value Line has been around since 1931 and brands themselves as “The Most Trusted Name In Investment Research” and they are the first resource listed in the Information Resources appendix of one of my favorite dividend growth investing books: The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth.
“This compendium of data is available in most libraries, and you can subscribe to their extensive weekly updates. While the same data is available in many other places, Value Line is unique in its display of data covering many years. You can see the trend of dividend increases over time at a glance, for example, as well as the trends of sales, earnings, cash flow, cash available, and virtually every other valuation measure you can think of—all laid out in a quick reference spreadsheet style.”
Source: The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth by Lowell Miller (Affiliate link, but I personally own and highly recommend this book.)
The Best One-Page Reports Out There
Value Line does a number of things well, but what I find most useful is their one-page summaries of stocks. In my opinion, it’s the best out there. They manage to cram A LOT of information (Like dividend growth estimates and financial strength ratings) all onto one page, but still make easy to understand.
“The same information is available from other places […], but few alternatives can boast the concise historical display of 17 years of data that youʼll find in Value Line. This is why I find it valuable; you can quickly spot long-term patterns and trends because the data is all laid out in front of you. Too, key ratios are shown in a sensible and logical manner, right where a user needs them.”
Source: The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth by Lowell Miller (Affiliate link, but I personally own and highly recommend this book.)
How to use Value Line & Resources
You can check out my post on how I use Value Line reports to quickly assess dividend growth stocks, but I’d encourage you to also take a look at Value Line’s own resources as these reports can be used a number of different ways.
Value Line has sample reports for their various products available on their website and I’ve included a few samples below along with a link to their Value Line University which also has information about how to read these reports.
- Download Sample Report #1 (PDF): June 2005 sample report of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
- Download Sample Report #2 (PDF): August 2013 sample report of JNJ with explanations of how to read the report.
- Value Line University: A free four-part series from Value Line about
- Part 1: “Investment Basics”,
- Part 2: “Investment Strategies”,
- Part 3: “Building a Portfolio”, and
- Part 4: “Studying a Stock”. This part goes over how to use the Value Line Investment Survey one-page reports.
Which libraries in Canada offer free online access to Value Line?
It’s good news if you live in Quebec, as everyone has access through Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ).
If you live anywhere else, then check the large libraries in city centers and university libraries that have business schools first. These are the most likely to have free online Value Line access.
When you look at the library website, try a basic search for “Value Line Investment Survey” first and see what pops up. Not all libraries have the most user-friendly search options so it can sometimes be quicker to look for the libraries “Database” section. You can check the A-Z database listing and search for Value Line, or you can try looking through the business databases as it might be there too. Typically, you are looking for something like “Electronic Database”, “E-library”, “Digital Library”, etc. and this is where you will find the Value Line online access.
Luckily for you, I’ve already done the research and I’ve listed out all the libraries I checked so you can quickly see which ones have free online Value Line access and which don’t. I’ve included a link to the library’s Value Line Investment Survey access too.
One clarification I should make is that you have to have or get a free library card from the library before you’ll be able to access the Value Line Investment Survey online.
Navigation
Use the navigation links below to skip ahead to the province or territory you are interested in or to check out which Canadian stocks are covered in the Value Line Investment Survey.
Canadian Provinces & Territories with free online Value Line access through a library
- AB – Alberta
- BC – British Columbia
- MB – Manitoba
- NB – New Brunswick
- NL – Newfoundland and Labrador
- NT – Northwest Territories
- NS – Nova Scotia
- NU – Nunavut
- ON – Ontario
- PE – Prince Edward Island
- QC – Quebec
- SK – Saskatchewan
- YT – Yukon
Canadian stocks covered in the Value Line Investment Survey
Canadian Provinces & Territories with free online Value Line access through a library
AB – Alberta
Alberta libraries with free online Value Line access
Alberta libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Athabasca University Library
- MacEwan University Library
- Mount Royal University Library
- The King’s University Library
- University of Calgary Library (In-library paper copy of Value Line Investment Survey available)
- University of Lethbridge Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
BC – British Columbia
British Columbia libraries with free online Value Line access
British Columbia libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Burnaby Public Library (In-library paper copy of Value Line Investment Survey available)
- Capilano University Library
- Emily Carr University of Art and Design Library
- Greater Victoria Public Library (In-library paper copy of Value Line Investment Survey available)
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library
- New York Institute of Technology Library
- Quest University Library
- Royal Roads University Library
- Simon Fraser University Library
- Thompson Rivers University Library
- Trinity Western University Library
- University Canada West Library
- University of British Columbia Library (In-library paper copy of Value Line Investment Survey available)
- University of Northern British Columbia Library
- University of the Fraser Valley Library
- Vancouver Island Regional Library
- Vancouver Island University Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
MB – Manitoba
Manitoba libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in Manitoba that offer free online access to Value Line.
Manitoba libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Canadian Mennonite University
- Booth University College
- Brandon University
- Université de Saint-Boniface
- University College of the North
- University of Manitoba
- University of Winnipeg
- Winnipeg Public Library (The Millennium Library has a paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey)
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
NB – New Brunswick
New Brunswick libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in New Brunswick that offer free online access to Value Line.
New Brunswick libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Crandall University Library
- Kingswood University Library
- Moncton–Dieppe Public Library
- Mount Allison University Library
- Stephen’s University Library
- Thomas University Library
- Université de Moncton Library
- University of Fredericton Library
- University of New Brunswick Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
NL – Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in Newfoundland and Labrador that offer free online access to Value Line.
Newfoundland and Labrador libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Memorial University of Newfoundland Library
- John’s Public Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
NT – Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in the Northwest Territories that offer free online access to Value Line.
Northwest Territories libraries I checked that do not have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Yellowknife Public Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
NS – Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia libraries with free online Value Line access
Nova Scotia libraries I checked that do not have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Acadia University Library
- Annapolis Valley Regional Library
- Atlantic School of Theology Library
- Cape Breton Regional Library
- Cape Breton University Library (In-library paper copy of Value Line Investment Survey available)
- Colchester-East Hants Public Library
- Cumberland Public Libraries
- Dalhousie University Library
- Eastern Counties Regional Library
- Halifax Public Libraries
- Halifax Public Library
- Mount Saint Vincent University Library
- NSCAD University Library
- Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library
- Saint Francis Xavier University Library
- South Shore Public Libraries
- Université Sainte-Anne Library
- University of King’s College Library
- Western Counties Regional Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
NU – Nunavut
Nunavut libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in Nunavut that offer free online access to Value Line.
Nunavut libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Iqaluit Public Library
- Nunavut Arctic College Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
ON – Ontario
Ontario libraries with free online Value Line access
Ontario libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Kitchener, Waterloo, or Cambridge Libraries
- Algoma University Library
- Brock University Library
- Carleton University Library
- Dominican University College Library
- Hamilton Public Library
- Huron University College Library
- Lakehead University Library
- Laurentian University Library
- Nipissing University Library
- OCAD University Library
- Queen’s University Library
- Redeemer University College Library
- Royal Military College of Canada Library
- Ryerson University Library
- Saint Paul University Library
- Trent University Library
- Tyndale University College Library
- University of Guelph Library
- University of Ontario Institute of Technology Library
- University of Ottawa Library
- University of Toronto Library
- University of Waterloo Library
- University of Western Ontario Library
- University of Windsor Library
- Wilfrid Laurier University Library
- York University Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
PE – Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in Prince Edward Island that offer free online access to Value Line.
Prince Edward Island libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Charlottetown Public Library
- University of Prince Edward Island Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
QC – Quebec
I have to say that I think the library system in Quebec is pretty cool (I know… nerd alert!). Any Quebec resident can get free online access to the Value Line Investment Survey through a remote services subscription to the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) which allows anyone in Quebec to access the library’s resources remotely (Online).
Here’s how it works.
- If you live in Montreal, get a library card from the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and use your regular login to access Value Line online.
- If you don’t have a library card with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and you do not live in Montreal, but live in Quebec then use this link to subscribe to the remote services. Once you’ve subscribed you should be able to access Value Line online through Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). I’ve included a screenshot from the library in English and French below that explains the process too.
Source: https://www.banq.qc.ca/services/abonnement/abonnement_distance/index.html
Quebec libraries with free online Value Line access
I stopped looking after Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), because everyone in Quebec can access Value Line online through BAnQ.
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
SK – Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan libraries with free online Value Line access
Saskatchewan libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- First Nations University of Canada Library
- Regina Public Library
- Saskatoon Public Library
- University of Regina Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
YT – Yukon
Yukon libraries with free online Value Line access
Sorry, I couldn’t find any libraries in the Yukon that offer free online access to Value Line.
Yukon libraries I checked that don’t have online Value Line access.
Some of these libraries still might have the paper copy of the Value Line Investment Survey for in-library use only, but that’s not the focus of this article.
- Whitehorse Public Library
[Back to Navigation] [Jump to Canadian stocks covered by Value Line]
Canadian stocks covered in the Value Line Investment Survey
Value Line has a few different subscriptions, and most libraries have access to the Value Line Investment Survey which covers approximately 1,700 stocks. Of these stocks, most of them are US stocks, but some are Canadian. You can check which stocks are covered by Value Line analysts here and I’ve also listed off all the Canadian companies below for you.
For those interested in investing in smaller Canadian companies, then Value Line analysts likely won’t cover the stocks you are interested in, but if you are interested in the larger more mainstream names then Value Line likely covers the stock.
Out of the ~1,700 stocks covered by Value Line Investment Survey analysts…
79 are Canadian stocks,
52 of the 60 constituents in the S&P/TSX 60 Index are covered, and
38 are Canadian Dividend All-Stars (Canadian companies that have increased their dividend for 5 or more years in a row).
I’ve listed off all the Canadian ones that Value Line analysts cover so that you have a better idea if this is a resource you would use.
Remember: These are only the Canadian ones out of a total of approximately 1,700 stocks (Mostly US).
| Value Line Ticker | TSX Ticker | Company Name | Canadian Dividend All-Star? |
| AEM | AEM.TO | Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | No |
| ATDB.TO | ATD-B.TO | Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc | CDASL |
| BMO.TO | BMO.TO | Bank of Montreal | CDASL |
| BNS.TO | BNS.TO | Bank of Nova Scotia | CDASL |
| ABX | ABX.TO | Barrick Gold Corporation | No |
| BHC | BHC.TO | Bausch Health (Formerly Valeant Pharmaceuticals International prior to July 2018) | No |
| BCE | BCE.TO | BCE Inc | CDASL |
| BB | BB.TO | BlackBerry Limited | No |
| BBDB.TO | BBD-B.TO | Bombardier Inc (Class B) | No |
| BAM | BAM-A.TO | Brookfield Asset Management Inc | CDASL |
| CAE.TO | CAE.TO | CAE Inc | CDASL |
| CCO.TO | CCO.TO | Cameco Corp | No |
| CM.TO | CM.TO | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | CDASL |
| CNI | CNR.TO | Canadian National Railway Co | CDASL |
| CNQ.TO | CNQ.TO | Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | CDASL |
| CP | CP.TO | Canadian Pacific Railway Inc | No |
| CTCA.TO | CTC-A.TO | Canadian Tire ‘A’ | CDASL |
| CLS | CLS.TO | Celestica Inc | No |
| CVE.TO | CVE.TO | Cenovus Energy Inc | No |
| CCA.TO | CCA.TO | Cogeco Communic. | CDASL |
| COT | BCB.TO | Cott Corporation | No |
| CPG.TO | CPG.TO | Crescent Point Energy | No |
| UFS | UFS.TO | Domtar Corporation | CDASL |
| EMA.TO | EMA.TO | Emera Inc. | CDASL |
| EMPA.TO | EMP-A.TO | Empire Company Limited (Class A) | CDASL |
| ENB.TO | ENB.TO | Enbridge Inc | CDASL |
| ECA | ECA.TO | Encana Corporation | No |
| ERF.TO | ERF.TO | Enerplus Corporation | No |
| FTT.TO | FTT.TO | Finning Int’l | CDASL |
| FTS.TO | FTS.TO | Fortis Inc | CDASL |
| FNV | FNV.TO | Franco Nevada Corp | CDASL |
| WN.TO | WN.TO | George Weston Ltd | CDASL |
| GIL | GIL.TO | Gildan Activewear | CDASL |
| GG | G.TO | Goldcorp Inc | No |
| HSE.TO | HSE.TO | Husky Energy Inc | No |
| IMAX | IMAX.TO | IMAX Corporation | No |
| IMO | IMO.TO | Imperial Oil Limited | CDASL |
| KGC | K.TO | Kinross Gold Corporation | No |
| LNR.TO | LNR.TO | Linamar Corp | No |
| LGFA | LGF-A.TO | Lions Gate ‘A’ | No |
| L.TO | L.TO | Loblaw Cos. Ltd. | CDASL |
| LULU | LULU (Nasdaq only) | Lululemon Athletica Inc | No |
| MGA | MG.TO | Magna International Inc | CDASL |
| MFC | MFC.TO | Manulife Financial Corporation | No |
| MFI.TO | MFI.TO | Maple Leaf Foods | No |
| MEOH | MX.TO | Methanex Corp | CDASL |
| MRU.TO | MRU.TO | Metro Inc | CDASL |
| TAP | TAP.TO | Molson Coors Brewing Company | No |
| NA.TO | NA.TO | National Bank of Canada | CDASL |
| NPI.TO | NPI.TO | Northland Power Inc | No |
| NTR | NTR.TO | Nutrien Ltd. | No |
| OTEX | OTEX.TO | Open Text Corp | CDASL |
| PAAS | PAAS.TO | Pan American Silver Corp | No |
| POU.TO | POU.TO | Paramount Resources | No |
| PPL.TO | PPL.TO | Pembina Pipeline | CDASL |
| PWF.TO | PWF.TO | Power Financial | No |
| PVG | PVG.TO | Pretium Resources | No |
| QSR | QSR.TO | Restaurant Brands International Inc. | No |
| RCIB.TO | RCI-B.TO | Rogers Communications Inc (Class B) | No |
| RY.TO | RY.TO | Royal Bank of Canada | CDASL |
| RUS.TO | RUS.TO | Russel Metals Inc | No |
| SAP.TO | SAP.TO | Saputo Inc. | CDASL |
| SJRB.TO | SJR-B.TO | Shaw Communications Inc (Class B) | No |
| SWIR | SW.TO | Sierra Wireless | No |
| SNC.TO | SNC.TO | SNC-Lavalin Group | CDASL |
| STN.TO | STN.TO | Stantec Inc. | CDASL |
| SLF.TO | SLF.TO | Sun Life Financial Services. | No |
| SU.TO | SU.TO | Suncor Energy Inc | CDASL |
| TECKB.TO | TECK-B.TO | Teck Resources ‘B’ | No |
| T.TO | T.TO | Telus Corp | CDASL |
| TRI.TO | TRI.TO | Thomson Reuters Corp | CDASL |
| TD.TO | TD.TO | Toronto Dominion Bank | CDASL |
| TA.TO | TA.TO | TransAlta Corp | No |
| TRP | TRP.TO | TransCanada Corporation | CDASL |
| WCN | WCN.TO | Waste Connections | CDASL |
| WFT.TO | WFT.TO | West Fraser Timber | No |
| WJA.TO | WJA.TO | WestJet Airlines Ltd | No |
| WPM | WPM.TO | Wheaton Precious Met. | No |
| AUY | YRI.TO | Yamana Gold Inc | No |
Summary
The Value Line Investment Survey is an extremely valuable investment research resource that I use all the time when researching dividend growth stocks. I find their 3-5 year dividend growth estimates and financial strength ratings especially helpful.
Related article: How to use Value Line Investment Survey Reports to Quickly Assess Dividend Growth Stocks
Value Line Investment Survey analysts cover about 1,700 stocks. Most of these are US stocks, but some are Canadian. In total, Value Line analysts cover 79 Canadian stocks and these are mostly the larger more mainstream companies. For instance, of the 60 stocks from the S&P/TSX 60 Index, 52 are covered by Value Line. They also cover 38 Canadian Dividend All-Stars (Canadian companies that have increased their dividend for 5 or more years in a row).
Check your library to see if they offer free online access to Value Line. Through my research I was able to find libraries in the following provinces that offer online Value Line access:
- AB – Alberta
- BC – British Columbia
- NS – Nova Scotia
- ON – Ontario
- QC – Quebec
- SK – Saskatchewan
Libraries in major city centers or at universities with business schools are more likely to offer online free access to Value Line.
The only province/territory with province/territory-wide free online access to Value Line is Quebec. Quebec offers free online access through a remote services subscription to the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ).
Disclosure: I own shares in Bank of Nova Scotia, Emera, Enbridge Inc, National Bank of Canada, Rogers Communications Inc, and Suncor Energy Inc. You can see my portfolio here.
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