Ares Capital (ARCC) Competitors

Golub Capital BDC (NASDAQ:GBDC) and Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in GBDC or ARCC?

42.4% of Golub Capital BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.4% of Ares Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Golub Capital BDC shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is GBDC or ARCC a better dividend stock?

Golub Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.6%. Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.5%. Golub Capital BDC pays out 138.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ares Capital pays out 93.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Do analysts rate GBDC or ARCC?

Golub Capital BDC currently has a consensus price target of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.05%. Ares Capital has a consensus price target of $22.86, suggesting a potential upside of 1.66%. Given Golub Capital BDC's higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Golub Capital BDC is more favorable than Ares Capital.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Golub Capital BDC	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Ares Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78

Is GBDC or ARCC more profitable?

Ares Capital has a net margin of 44.94% compared to Golub Capital BDC's net margin of 35.50%. Golub Capital BDC's return on equity of 10.59% beat Ares Capital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golub Capital BDC	35.50%	10.59%	4.86%
Ares Capital	44.94%	10.48%	5.00%

Which has more risk & volatility, GBDC or ARCC?

Golub Capital BDC has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ares Capital has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor GBDC or ARCC?

In the previous week, Ares Capital had 22 more articles in the media than Golub Capital BDC. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Ares Capital and 14 mentions for Golub Capital BDC. Golub Capital BDC's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Ares Capital's score of 0.88 indicating that Golub Capital BDC is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Golub Capital BDC	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ares Capital	17 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, GBDC or ARCC?

Ares Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Golub Capital BDC. Ares Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Golub Capital BDC, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Golub Capital BDC	$300.65M	13.07	$273.79M	$1.13	13.06
Ares Capital	$2.99B	5.30	$1.52B	$2.05	10.97

Summary

Ares Capital beats Golub Capital BDC on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.