Golub Capital BDC (GBDC) Competitors

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

Which has better 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	$2.99B	5.22	$1.52B	$2.05	10.97
Golub Capital BDC	$724.68M	5.49	$273.79M	$1.13	13.21

Does the media refer more to ARCC or GBDC?

In the previous week, Ares Capital had 10 more articles in the media than Golub Capital BDC. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Ares Capital and 6 mentions for Golub Capital BDC. Golub Capital BDC's average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat Ares Capital's score of 1.16 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	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
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

Do analysts recommend ARCC or GBDC?

Ares Capital presently has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.16%. Golub Capital BDC has a consensus price target of $15.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.85%. Given Golub Capital BDC's higher possible 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)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78
Golub Capital BDC	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is ARCC or GBDC 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
Ares Capital	43.50%	11.05%	5.25%
Golub Capital BDC	35.50%	10.59%	4.86%

Which has more risk and volatility, ARCC or GBDC?

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe 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 insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Golub Capital BDC shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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 8.5%. Golub Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.5%. 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. 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.

Summary

Ares Capital beats Golub Capital BDC on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.