Head-To-Head Review: Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund (NYSE:JOF) versus Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD)

Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund (NYSE:JOF – Get Rating) and Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Dividends

Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Goldman Sachs BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.7%. Goldman Sachs BDC pays out 204.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund and Goldman Sachs BDC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
Goldman Sachs BDC	26.97%	12.96%	5.68%

Risk & Volatility

Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Goldman Sachs BDC has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

65.8% of Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.4% of Goldman Sachs BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Goldman Sachs BDC shares are owned by company 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund and Goldman Sachs BDC’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Goldman Sachs BDC	$346.98 million	4.56	$192.43 million	$0.88	17.51

Goldman Sachs BDC has higher revenue and earnings than Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund and Goldman Sachs BDC, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund	0	0	0	0	N/A
Goldman Sachs BDC	0	4	0	0	2.00

Goldman Sachs BDC has a consensus price target of $16.25, indicating a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Goldman Sachs BDC’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Goldman Sachs BDC is more favorable than Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund.

Summary

Goldman Sachs BDC beats Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund

(Get Rating)

Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund, Inc. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched by Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. Inc. It is managed by Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. The fund invests in the public equity markets of Japan. It invests in stocks traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya Stock Exchanges, JASDAQ, Mothers, Hercules, Centrex, and other indices. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in stocks of small cap companies. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the The Russell/Nomura Small Cap Index. It was formerly known as Japan OTC Equity Fund, Inc. Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund, Inc. was formed on March 22, 1990 and is domiciled in the United States.

About Goldman Sachs BDC

(Get Rating)

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. invests in middle market companies located in the US. The fund targets companies operating in the fields software, health technology information technology, commercial services and textiles with an investment size of $25 to $75 million and an EBITDA of $5 to $75 million. It provides financing in the form of senior secured debt, unitranche debt, junior secured, mezzanine debt and equity for acquisitions, refinancing, growth, LBOs, dividend recapitalization and restructuring transactions.