Investcorp Credit Management BDC (NASDAQ:ICMB) vs. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Critical Analysis

Investcorp Credit Management BDC (NASDAQ:ICMB) and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Investcorp Credit Management BDC and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Investcorp Credit Management BDC	-118.71%	2.26%	0.75%
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	31.63%	11.73%	5.12%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Investcorp Credit Management BDC and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Investcorp Credit Management BDC	$17.40 million	0.95	-$8.85 million	($1.37)	-0.84
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	$1.42 billion	3.93	$563.46 million	$1.91	12.55

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than Investcorp Credit Management BDC. Investcorp Credit Management BDC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Investcorp Credit Management BDC has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Investcorp Credit Management BDC and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Investcorp Credit Management BDC	1	0	0	0	1.00
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	1	3	5	0	2.44

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a consensus price target of $25.13, indicating a potential upside of 4.80%. Given Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is more favorable than Investcorp Credit Management BDC.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

7.8% of Investcorp Credit Management BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.5% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Investcorp Credit Management BDC shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund beats Investcorp Credit Management BDC on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Investcorp Credit Management BDC

Investcorp Credit Management BDC, Inc. is a business development company specializing in loan, mezzanine, middle market, growth capital, acquisitions, market/product expansion, organic growth, refinancings and recapitalization investments. It also selectively invests in mezzanine loans/structured equity and in the equity of portfolio companies through warrants and other instruments, in most cases taking such upside participation interests as part of a broader investment relationship. The fund typically invests in United States and Europe. Within United States, the fund seeks to invest in Midatlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and West Coast regions. The fund primarily invests in cable and satellites; consumer services; healthcare equipment and services; industrials; information technology; telecommunication services; and utilities sectors. The fund seeks to invest between $5 million to $25 million in companies that have annual revenues of at least $50 million with EBITDA at least $15 million.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act). In addition, the Fund elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a regulated investment company (RIC), as defined under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). The fund also intends to continue to comply with the requirements prescribed by the Code in order to maintain tax treatment as a RIC. The fund's investment objectives are to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective primarily through originated loans, equity and other securities, including syndicated loans, of private U.S. companies, specifically small and middle market companies, typically in the form of first lien senior secured and unitranche loans (including first out/last out loans), and to a lesser extent, second lien, third lien, unsecured and subordinated loans and other debt and equity securities.