Critical Comparison: Palmer Square Capital BDC (NYSE:PSBD) versus Kayne Anderson BDC (NYSE:KBDC)

Palmer Square Capital BDC (NYSE:PSBD) and Kayne Anderson BDC (NYSE:KBDC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Palmer Square Capital BDC and Kayne Anderson BDC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palmer Square Capital BDC	-26.82%	11.01%	4.14%
Kayne Anderson BDC	37.30%	10.47%	5.14%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Palmer Square Capital BDC and Kayne Anderson BDC”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palmer Square Capital BDC	$124.39 million	2.71	-$3.17 million	($1.04)	-10.42
Kayne Anderson BDC	$235.82 million	4.17	$93.71 million	$1.28	11.57

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

Dividends

Palmer Square Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.3%. Kayne Anderson BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.8%. Palmer Square Capital BDC pays out -138.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kayne Anderson BDC pays out 125.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Palmer Square Capital BDC is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Palmer Square Capital BDC and Kayne Anderson BDC, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palmer Square Capital BDC	1	3	0	0	1.75
Kayne Anderson BDC	0	1	3	0	2.75

Palmer Square Capital BDC presently has a consensus target price of $10.67, indicating a potential downside of 1.60%. Kayne Anderson BDC has a consensus target price of $15.38, indicating a potential upside of 3.86%. Given Kayne Anderson BDC’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kayne Anderson BDC is more favorable than Palmer Square Capital BDC.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.5% of Palmer Square Capital BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Palmer Square Capital BDC shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Kayne Anderson BDC shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Palmer Square Capital BDC has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kayne Anderson BDC has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Kayne Anderson BDC beats Palmer Square Capital BDC on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Palmer Square Capital BDC

Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc. is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company which primarily lends to and invests in corporate debt securities, including small to large private U.S. companies and has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc. is based in MISSION WOODS, Kan.

About Kayne Anderson BDC

Kayne Anderson BDC Inc. is a business development company which invests primarily in first lien senior secured loans, with a secondary focus on unitranche and split-lien loans to middle market companies. Kayne Anderson BDC Inc. is based in CHICAGO.