Critical Analysis: Equus Total Return (NYSE:EQS) and High Income Securities Fund (NYSE:PCF)

Profitability

This table compares Equus Total Return and High Income Securities Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equus Total Return	-621.28%	-7.73%	-3.63%
High Income Securities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equus Total Return and High Income Securities Fund”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equus Total Return	$250,000.00	59.80	$12.95 million	($0.50)	-2.20
High Income Securities Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Equus Total Return has higher revenue and earnings than High Income Securities Fund.

Risk & Volatility

Equus Total Return has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, High Income Securities Fund has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

16.6% of High Income Securities Fund shares are held by institutional investors. 30.6% of Equus Total Return shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of High Income Securities Fund shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

High Income Securities Fund beats Equus Total Return on 4 of the 7 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equus Total Return

Equus Total Return, Inc. is a business development company (BDC) specializing in leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, corporate partnerships/joint ventures, growth and expansion capital, acquisition financing, roll-up acquisition strategies, operational turnarounds, recapitalizations of existing businesses, special situations, equity and equity-oriented securities issued by privately owned companies, debt securities including subordinate debt, debt convertible into common or preferred stock, or debt combined with warrants and common and preferred stock, and preferred equity financing. It invests in small to mid-sized companies and acts as a lead investor. It invests in technology, telecommunication, financial services, natural resource and industrial manufacturing and services. It invests in companies engaged in the alternative energy, real estate, healthcare, education, e-learning, leisure and entertainment, and foreign investment sector in the United States, China, India, and Europe. It investments include common and preferred stock, debt convertible into common or preferred stock, debt combined with warrants and options, and other rights to acquire common or preferred stock. It seeks to invest in companies between $1 million to $25 million with revenues between $5 million and $150 million with EBITDA between $2 million to $50 million. It seeks to take control and non-control equity positions. Equus Total Return, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Houston, Texas with additional office in Vancouver, Canada.

About High Income Securities Fund

High Income Securities Fund is a closed-ended balanced income mutual fund launched and managed by Putnam Investment Management, LLC. The fund is co-managed by Putnam Investments Limited. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It invests in both convertible bonds and convertible preferred stocks. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against a composite index comprising of 50% JPMorgan Developed High Yield Index and 50% BofA Merrill Lynch AllConvertibles Speculative Quality Index. The fund was formerly known as Putnam High Income Securities Fund High Income Securities Fund was formed on July 9, 1987 and is domiciled in the United States.