Contrasting Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) and Crown LNG (NASDAQ:CGBS)

Crown LNG (NASDAQ:CGBS) and Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Crown LNG and Bain Capital Specialty Finance”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crown LNG	N/A	N/A	-$6.19 million	($0.87)	-0.52
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	$297.79 million	3.94	$123.38 million	$1.99	9.14

Bain Capital Specialty Finance has higher revenue and earnings than Crown LNG. Crown LNG is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bain Capital Specialty Finance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Crown LNG and Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crown LNG	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	43.62%	11.90%	5.43%

Risk & Volatility

Crown LNG has a beta of -0.21, meaning that its share price is 121% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.9% of Crown LNG shares are owned by institutional investors. 81.0% of Crown LNG shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Bain Capital Specialty Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Crown LNG and Bain Capital Specialty Finance, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crown LNG	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	0	1	1	0	2.50

Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a consensus target price of $17.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.75%. Given Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bain Capital Specialty Finance is more favorable than Crown LNG.

Summary

Bain Capital Specialty Finance beats Crown LNG on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crown LNG

Crown LNG Holdings Limited develops and delivers tailored offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and regasification terminal infrastructure solutions for harsh weather locations. The company is based in St Helier, Jersey.

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.