Analyzing Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) & Invent Ventures (OTCMKTS:IDEA)

Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) and Invent Ventures (OTCMKTS:IDEA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Barings Bdc and Invent Ventures”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Barings Bdc	$112.89 million	8.40	$110.29 million	$0.96	9.39
Invent Ventures	$790,000.00	3.80	$710,000.00	N/A	N/A

Barings Bdc has higher revenue and earnings than Invent Ventures.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.1% of Barings Bdc shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Barings Bdc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.4% of Invent Ventures shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Barings Bdc and Invent Ventures’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Barings Bdc	35.67%	9.76%	4.26%
Invent Ventures	91.12%	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Barings Bdc has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Invent Ventures has a beta of -52.44, meaning that its share price is 5,344% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Barings Bdc and Invent Ventures, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Barings Bdc	0	2	2	0	2.50
Invent Ventures	0	0	0	0	0.00

Barings Bdc currently has a consensus target price of $9.67, indicating a potential upside of 7.22%. Given Barings Bdc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Barings Bdc is more favorable than Invent Ventures.

Summary

Barings Bdc beats Invent Ventures on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Barings Bdc

Barings BDC, Inc. is a publicly traded, externally managed investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. It seeks to invest primarily in senior secured loans, first lien debt, unitranche, second lien debt, subordinated debt, equity co-investments and senior secured private debt investments in private middle-market companies that operate across a wide range of industries. It specializes in mezzanine, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, ESOPs, change of control transactions, acquisition financings, growth financing, and recapitalizations in lower middle market, mature, and later stage companies. It invests in manufacturing and distribution; business services and technology; transportation and logistics; consumer product and services. It invests in United States. It invests in companies with EBITDA of $10 million to $75 million, typically in private equity sponsor backed.

About Invent Ventures

Invent Ventures, Inc., formerly known as Los Angeles Syndicate of Technology, Inc., is venture capital firm specializing in incubation, seed, start ups, growth capital, and early stage investments. The firm prefers to invest in technology companies including web-based software, digital media, mobile applications, social media, consumer internet, online advertising and healthcare technology . It prefers to invest in the Los Angeles area of United States. The firm seeks to invest up to $0.25 million. Invent Ventures, Inc. was founded on August 18, 2005 and is based in Santa Monica, California.