Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) Upgraded at Craig Hallum

Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) was upgraded by research analysts at Craig Hallum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $14.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Craig Hallum’s price target points to a potential upside of 111.32% from the stock’s current price.

GDOT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Green Dot from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Green Dot from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Green Dot Stock Performance

Shares of GDOT opened at $6.63 on Friday. Green Dot has a 1 year low of $6.12 and a 1 year high of $13.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.29. The company has a market capitalization of $356.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Topline Capital Management, Ll sold 380,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.44, for a total value of $3,973,578.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,708,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,592,835.44. This represents a 6.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Topline Capital Partners, Lp sold 331,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.54, for a total value of $3,492,313.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,376,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,671,334.98. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 959,180 shares of company stock valued at $10,071,696. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Green Dot in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Green Dot in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in Green Dot in the fourth quarter valued at about $121,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Green Dot by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in Green Dot during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. 92.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Green Dot

Green Dot Corporation, a financial technology and registered bank holding company, provides various financial services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer Services, Business to Business Services, and Money Movement Services. The company provides deposit account programs, including consumer and small business checking account products, network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards and gift cards, and secured credit programs.