Analyzing Palmer Square Capital BDC (NYSE:PSBD) and S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI)

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) and Palmer Square Capital BDC (NYSE:PSBD) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares S&P Global and Palmer Square Capital BDC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
S&P Global	31.37%	17.74%	9.24%
Palmer Square Capital BDC	-26.73%	11.22%	4.15%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.2% of S&P Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.5% of Palmer Square Capital BDC shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of S&P Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Palmer Square Capital BDC shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares S&P Global and Palmer Square Capital BDC”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
S&P Global	$15.34 billion	7.89	$4.47 billion	$16.38	25.05
Palmer Square Capital BDC	$124.39 million	2.36	-$3.17 million	($0.99)	-9.69

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

Risk and Volatility

S&P Global has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Palmer Square Capital BDC has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

S&P Global pays an annual dividend of $3.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Palmer Square Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.0%. S&P Global pays out 23.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Palmer Square Capital BDC pays out -145.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. S&P Global has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years. 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 recent ratings and recommmendations for S&P Global and Palmer Square Capital BDC, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
S&P Global	0	2	18	0	2.90
Palmer Square Capital BDC	0	5	0	0	2.00

S&P Global currently has a consensus target price of $519.12, indicating a potential upside of 26.52%. Palmer Square Capital BDC has a consensus target price of $10.50, indicating a potential upside of 9.42%. Given S&P Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe S&P Global is more favorable than Palmer Square Capital BDC.

Summary

S&P Global beats Palmer Square Capital BDC on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc. engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions. The Market Intelligence segment provides multi-asset-class data and analytics integrated with purpose-built workflow solutions. The Ratings segment is involved in credit ratings, research, and analytics, offering investors and other market participants information, ratings, and benchmarks. The Commodity Insights segment focuses on information and benchmark prices for the commodity and energy markets. The Mobility segment offers solutions serving the full automotive value chain including vehicle manufacturers, automotive suppliers, mobility service providers, retailers, consumers, and finance and insurance companies. The Engineering Solutions segment engages in advanced knowledge discovery technologies, research tools, and software-based engineering decision engines to advance innovation, maximize productivity, improve quality, and reduce risk. The company was founded by James H. McGraw and John A. Hill in 1917 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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.