Nuveen California AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund (NKX)

FairStock Score: 53/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

At the 2026-10-13 close of $10.57, this closed-end fund is not an operating company, so I look first at the assets and the distribution. It owns California municipal securities, mostly rated Baa or BBB and higher, with income exempt from regular federal and California taxes. FairStock's P/B is 0.86, so the shares sell below book value, and its Graham Number is $10.93, giving a 3.29% margin of safety. The dividend yield is 7.65%, which is attractive if it is covered by tax-exempt income. Beta is 0.62, suggesting less price volatility than the broad market. But the quality signals are mixed to poor. FairStock's P/E is 24.58, ROE is -6.22%, and ROCE is only 2.25%. D/E of 0.65 means leverage is part of the structure. A Piotroski F-Score of 0/9 and an Altman Z-Score of 0.85 point to financial weakness under those models. The FairStock Score is 53/100, and the Lynch category is none because only zero years of filed results are available; there is too little history for that framework. Revenue and profit growth are not available. The 52-week range is $10.30 to $13.20, so the price sits near the low. I see a modest discount to book and a high tax-free yield, but negative return on equity, weak safety scores, and leverage keep me cautious. The key question is whether the distribution is earned by the portfolio rather than returned capital.

In plain English: This fund owns California city and state bonds, and most of the interest it pays is free from federal and California income tax. It pays a high income and its shares sell a little below the value of its holdings, but the fund's recent profit figures are negative and its financial safety checks look weak. The price looks roughly fair, maybe slightly cheap, but the numbers are not strong enough to call it a clear bargain.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer