Golub Capital BDC (GBDC) Competitors

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

Which has higher valuation & earnings, 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	13.33	$273.79M	$1.13	13.32
Ares Capital	$2.99B	5.23	$1.52B	$2.05	11.00

Does the media favor GBDC or ARCC?

In the previous week, Ares Capital had 29 more articles in the media than Golub Capital BDC. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Ares Capital and 7 mentions for Golub Capital BDC. Golub Capital BDC's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat Ares Capital's score of 0.97 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)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ares Capital	21 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe 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 insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is GBDC or ARCC more profitable?

Ares Capital has a net margin of 43.50% compared to Golub Capital BDC's net margin of 35.50%. Ares Capital's return on equity of 11.05% beat Golub Capital BDC's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golub Capital BDC	35.50%	10.59%	4.86%
Ares Capital	43.50%	11.05%	5.25%

Do analysts recommend GBDC or ARCC?

Golub Capital BDC currently has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 2.99%. Ares Capital has a consensus target price of $22.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.18%. Given Golub Capital BDC's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research 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)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

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 10.4%. 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.

Which has more risk & volatility, GBDC or ARCC?

Golub Capital BDC has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ares Capital has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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