Golub Capital BDC (GBDC) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer ARCC or GBDC?

In the previous week, Ares Capital had 32 more articles in the media than Golub Capital BDC. MarketBeat recorded 40 mentions for Ares Capital and 8 mentions for Golub Capital BDC. Golub Capital BDC's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Ares Capital's score of 0.46 indicating that Golub Capital BDC is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ares Capital	14 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Golub Capital BDC	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, ARCC or GBDC?

Ares Capital has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Golub Capital BDC has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ARCC or GBDC more profitable?

Ares Capital has a net margin of 50.90% compared to Golub Capital BDC's net margin of 39.63%. Ares Capital's return on equity of 11.54% beat Golub Capital BDC's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ares Capital	50.90%	11.54%	5.50%
Golub Capital BDC	39.63%	11.18%	5.11%

Is ARCC or GBDC a better dividend stock?

Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.3%. Golub Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.9%. Ares Capital pays out 78.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Golub Capital BDC pays out 113.0% 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 ARCC or GBDC?

Ares Capital currently has a consensus target price of $22.22, suggesting a potential upside of 7.56%. Golub Capital BDC has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.24%. Given Golub Capital BDC's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Golub Capital BDC is more favorable than Ares Capital.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ares Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82
Golub Capital BDC	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

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

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

Which has higher valuation & earnings, ARCC or GBDC?

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
Ares Capital	$1.71B	8.28	$1.52B	$2.45	8.43
Golub Capital BDC	$309.01M	12.30	$273.79M	$1.38	10.38

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ARCC or GBDC?

Ares Capital received 115 more outperform votes than Golub Capital BDC when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.63% of users gave Ares Capital an outperform vote while only 55.17% of users gave Golub Capital BDC an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ares Capital	Outperform Votes 419 62.63%	Underperform Votes 250 37.37%
Golub Capital BDC	Outperform Votes 304 55.17%	Underperform Votes 247 44.83%

Summary

Ares Capital beats Golub Capital BDC on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.