Analyzing The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) and Crescent Capital BDC (NASDAQ:CCAP)

Crescent Capital BDC (NASDAQ:CCAP) and The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Crescent Capital BDC has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The9 has a beta of 2.09, indicating that its share price is 109% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Crescent Capital BDC and The9, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crescent Capital BDC	0	1	5	0	2.83
The9	0	0	0	0	0.00

Crescent Capital BDC currently has a consensus target price of $19.33, indicating a potential downside of 3.04%. Given Crescent Capital BDC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Crescent Capital BDC is more favorable than The9.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Crescent Capital BDC and The9″s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crescent Capital BDC	$184.13 million	4.01	$83.84 million	$2.55	7.82
The9	$25.22 million	5.38	$2.82 million	N/A	N/A

Crescent Capital BDC has higher revenue and earnings than The9.

Profitability

This table compares Crescent Capital BDC and The9’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crescent Capital BDC	47.06%	12.20%	5.57%
The9	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.5% of Crescent Capital BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.5% of The9 shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Crescent Capital BDC shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 30.8% of The9 shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Crescent Capital BDC beats The9 on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crescent Capital BDC

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. is as a business development company private equity / buyouts and loan fund. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. The fund seeks to invest in United States.

About The9

The9 Limited operates as a cryptocurrency mining business in China, Eastern Europe, Asia, and North America. The company was formerly known as GameNow.net Limited and changed its name to The9 Limited in February 2004. The9 Limited was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.