Comparing BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals (NYSE:LEO) & SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC)

BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals (NYSE:LEO) and SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. SLR Investment pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.2%. SLR Investment pays out 92.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.3% of SLR Investment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of SLR Investment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals and SLR Investment’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SLR Investment	$229.31 million	3.83	$76.39 million	$1.78	9.04

SLR Investment has higher revenue and earnings than BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals and SLR Investment, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals	0	0	0	0	N/A
SLR Investment	1	4	0	0	1.80

SLR Investment has a consensus price target of $14.88, indicating a potential downside of 7.55%. Given SLR Investment’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SLR Investment is more favorable than BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals.

Volatility and Risk

BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SLR Investment has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals and SLR Investment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals	N/A	N/A	N/A
SLR Investment	41.66%	9.51%	3.72%

Summary

SLR Investment beats BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals

BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in investment grade municipal bonds, the income from which is exempt from federal income tax. It employs fundamental analysis to create its portfolio. The fund was formerly known as Dreyfus Strategic Municipals, Inc. BNY Mellon Strategic Municipals, Inc. was formed on September 23, 1987 and is domiciled in the United States.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies. The fund invests in aerospace and defense; air freight & logistics; asset management; automotive; banking; beverage, food and tobacco; building products; buildings and real estate; broadcasting and entertainment; cargo transport; commercial services and supplies; communications equipment; chemicals, plastics and rubber; containers, packaging and glass; construction & engineering; diversified/conglomerate manufacturing; consumer Finance; distributors; diversified/conglomerate services; diversified financial services; diversified real estate activities; food products; Footwear; Education Services; diversified telecommunications services; electronics; farming and agriculture; finance; grocery; health care equipment and supplies; health care facilities; education and childcare; home and office furnishing, durable consumer products; hotels, motels, inns and gaming; insurance; restaurants, leisure, amusement, and entertainment; leisure equipment tolls and services, media, multiline retail, multi sector holdings; paper and forest products; personal products; professional services, research and consulting services, software; specialty retail; textiles apparel and luxury goods, thrifts and mortgage finance, trading companies and distributors, utilities, and wireless telecommunication services; industrial conglomerates; internet software and services, IT services, machinery; mining, steel, iron, and non-precious metals; oil and gas; personal, food and miscellaneous services; printing and publishing; retail stores; telecommunications; textiles and leather; and utilities. It also invests in life sciences with focus on specialty pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotech, health Care Providers and services; health Care technology, enabling technologies and tools. The fund primarily invests in United States. The fund's investments generally range between $5 million and $100 million. The fund invests in companies with revenues between $50 million and $1 billion and EBITDA between $15 million and $100 million. It invests in the form of senior secured loans, mezzanine loans, and equity securities. It may also seek investments in thinly traded public companies and also make secondary investments. The fund makes non-control equity investments. It primarily exits within three years of the initial capital commitment.