Analyzing Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) and Perception Capital Corp. III (NASDAQ:PFTA)

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) and Perception Capital Corp. III (NASDAQ:PFTA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bain Capital Specialty Finance and Perception Capital Corp. III”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	$146.76 million	7.47	$123.38 million	$2.00	8.50
Perception Capital Corp. III	N/A	N/A	$7.15 million	N/A	N/A

Bain Capital Specialty Finance has higher revenue and earnings than Perception Capital Corp. III.

Profitability

This table compares Bain Capital Specialty Finance and Perception Capital Corp. III’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	43.90%	12.09%	5.49%
Perception Capital Corp. III	N/A	-28.86%	1.93%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.9% of Perception Capital Corp. III shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Bain Capital Specialty Finance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Perception Capital Corp. III shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Perception Capital Corp. III has a beta of 0.02, suggesting that its stock price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Bain Capital Specialty Finance and Perception Capital Corp. III, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	0	1	1	0	2.50
Perception Capital Corp. III	0	0	0	0	N/A

Bain Capital Specialty Finance currently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.06%. Given Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Bain Capital Specialty Finance is more favorable than Perception Capital Corp. III.

Summary

Bain Capital Specialty Finance beats Perception Capital Corp. III on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. is business development company specializing in direct loans to middle-market companies. The fund seeks to invest in senior investments with a first or second lien on collateral, senior first lien, stretch senior, senior second lien, unitranche, mezzanine debt, junior securities, other junior investments, and secondary purchases of assets or portfolios that primarily consist of middle-market corporate debt. It typically invests in companies with EBITDA between $10 million and $150 million.

About Perception Capital Corp. III

Perception Capital Corp. III intends to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities in the financial technology or financial services ecosystem. The company was formerly known as Portage Fintech Acquisition Corporation and changed its name to Perception Capital Corp. III in October 2023. Perception Capital Corp. III was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.