Analyzing Abrdn Japan Equity Fund (NYSE:JEQ) & Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD)

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund (NYSE:JEQ) and Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. Goldman Sachs BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.7%. Goldman Sachs BDC pays out 211.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Volatility & Risk

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Goldman Sachs BDC has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.7% of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.7% of Goldman Sachs BDC shares are held by institutional investors. 52.1% of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Goldman Sachs BDC shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Abrdn Japan Equity Fund and Goldman Sachs BDC”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Abrdn Japan Equity Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Goldman Sachs BDC	$454.91 million	3.37	$195.87 million	$0.85	15.45

Goldman Sachs BDC has higher revenue and earnings than Abrdn Japan Equity Fund.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Abrdn Japan Equity Fund and Goldman Sachs BDC, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Abrdn Japan Equity Fund	0	0	0	0	0.00
Goldman Sachs BDC	0	2	0	0	2.00

Goldman Sachs BDC has a consensus target price of $13.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.99%. Given Goldman Sachs BDC’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Goldman Sachs BDC is more favorable than Abrdn Japan Equity Fund.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Abrdn Japan Equity Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
Goldman Sachs BDC	19.84%	15.79%	7.12%

Summary

Goldman Sachs BDC beats Abrdn Japan Equity Fund on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Abrdn Japan Equity Fund

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc is a close ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Japan. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It employs quantitative analysis to build its portfolio. The fund employs a quantitative analysis to create its portfolio. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the TOPIX Index. The fund was previously known as Japan Equity Fund, Inc. Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc was formed on July 12, 1990 and is domiciled in the United States.

About Goldman Sachs BDC

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. is a business development company specializing in middle market and mezzanine investment in private companies. It seeks to make capital appreciation through direct originations of secured debt, senior secured debt, junior secured debt, including first lien, first lien/last-out unitranche and second lien debt, unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, investments in equities. The fund primarily invests in United States. It seeks to invest between $10 million and $75 million in companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $75 million annually.