Main Street Capital (MAIN) Competitors

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

Is ARCC or MAIN more profitable?

Main Street Capital has a net margin of 96.16% compared to Ares Capital's net margin of 44.94%. Main Street Capital's return on equity of 12.82% beat Ares Capital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ares Capital	44.94%	10.48%	5.00%
Main Street Capital	96.16%	12.82%	6.89%

Does the media prefer ARCC or MAIN?

In the previous week, Main Street Capital had 14 more articles in the media than Ares Capital. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Main Street Capital and 20 mentions for Ares Capital. Ares Capital's average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat Main Street Capital's score of 0.61 indicating that Ares Capital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ares Capital	15 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Main Street Capital	10 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ARCC or MAIN?

Ares Capital has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Main Street Capital has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ARCC or MAIN?

Ares Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Main Street Capital. Ares Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Main Street Capital, 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	5.32	$1.52B	$2.05	11.00
Main Street Capital	$541.03M	10.79	$508.08M	$5.89	11.14

Is ARCC or MAIN a better dividend stock?

Ares Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.5%. Main Street Capital pays an annual dividend of $3.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. 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. Main Street Capital pays out 52.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Main Street Capital has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

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

27.4% of Ares Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.3% of Main Street Capital shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ares Capital shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Main Street Capital shares are held 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.

Do analysts prefer ARCC or MAIN?

Ares Capital presently has a consensus price target of $22.86, indicating a potential upside of 1.32%. Main Street Capital has a consensus price target of $53.60, indicating a potential downside of 18.29%. Given Ares Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ares Capital is more favorable than Main Street Capital.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ares Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78
Main Street Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Summary

Main Street Capital beats Ares Capital on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.