Critical Contrast: Equus Total Return (NYSE:EQS) versus Crescent Capital BDC (NASDAQ:CCAP)

Crescent Capital BDC (NASDAQ:CCAP) and Equus Total Return (NYSE:EQS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Crescent Capital BDC and Equus Total Return’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crescent Capital BDC	-2.02%	9.02%	3.82%
Equus Total Return	-1,408.24%	-14.25%	-11.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Crescent Capital BDC and Equus Total Return, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crescent Capital BDC	0	6	1	0	2.14
Equus Total Return	1	0	0	0	1.00

Crescent Capital BDC presently has a consensus target price of $12.25, suggesting a potential upside of 32.15%. Given Crescent Capital BDC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Crescent Capital BDC is more favorable than Equus Total Return.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Crescent Capital BDC and Equus Total Return”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crescent Capital BDC	$167.29 million	2.04	$34.51 million	($0.09)	-103.00
Equus Total Return	$1.37 million	6.44	-$14.16 million	($1.40)	-0.45

Crescent Capital BDC has higher revenue and earnings than Equus Total Return. Crescent Capital BDC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equus Total Return, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Crescent Capital BDC has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equus Total Return has a beta of 0.09, meaning that its share price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.5% of Crescent Capital BDC shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Crescent Capital BDC shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 30.5% of Equus Total Return shares are held 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.

Summary

Crescent Capital BDC beats Equus Total Return on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crescent Capital BDC

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. is as a business development company private equity / buyouts and loan fund. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. The fund seeks to invest in United States.

About Equus Total Return

Equus Total Return, Inc. is a business development company (BDC) specializing in leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, corporate partnerships/joint ventures, growth and expansion capital, acquisition financing, roll-up acquisition strategies, operational turnarounds, recapitalizations of existing businesses, special situations, equity and equity-oriented securities issued by privately owned companies, debt securities including subordinate debt, debt convertible into common or preferred stock, or debt combined with warrants and common and preferred stock, and preferred equity financing. It invests in small to mid-sized companies and acts as a lead investor. It invests in technology, telecommunication, financial services, natural resource and industrial manufacturing and services. It invests in companies engaged in the alternative energy, real estate, healthcare, education, e-learning, leisure and entertainment, and foreign investment sector in the United States, China, India, and Europe. It investments include common and preferred stock, debt convertible into common or preferred stock, debt combined with warrants and options, and other rights to acquire common or preferred stock. It seeks to invest in companies between $1 million to $25 million with revenues between $5 million and $150 million with EBITDA between $2 million to $50 million. It seeks to take control and non-control equity positions. Equus Total Return, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Houston, Texas with additional office in Vancouver, Canada.