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

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.9% of Perception Capital Corp. III shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Perception Capital Corp. III 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

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

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

Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential downside of 0.64%. Given Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bain Capital Specialty Finance is more favorable than Perception Capital Corp. III.

Profitability

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

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

Volatility & Risk

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Perception Capital Corp. III 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
Perception Capital Corp. III	N/A	N/A	$7.15 million	N/A	N/A
Bain Capital Specialty Finance	$297.79 million	3.71	$123.38 million	$2.00	8.56

Bain Capital Specialty Finance has higher revenue and earnings 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 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.

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.