At StateoftheMarkets.com, we strive to “own the best and ignore the rest” in our equity portfolios. Toward this end, each day we search our database for a “top stock” (a top rated company in terms of earnings strength as well as company and industry performance) that presents a strong technical “set up” and a good entry point.
In short, when our equity team is looking to add a stock to one of our portfolios, the “bull’s eye” stock shown below is generally their first choice.
| Company | Symbol | Industry | Stock Rating | YTD% Gain | S.T. Stop Loss |
| Green Dot Corp | GDOT | Consumer Finance | 7.2 | +8.85% | $13.00 |
Why We Like The Stock:
Green Dot Corp. (NYSE:GDOT) is our most compelling buy today due to the fact that it is a top rated stock in a decent sub-industry, consumer finance. Since GDOT’s October 2012 lows, the stock has been uptrending in an extremely orderly fashion. Each leg up has been met with a brief and modest pullback before extending higher again. The stock has managed to stay well above its 50-day moving average since November, which is also encouraging. Currently, GDOT has based on its latest pullback and is beginning to trend higher again. One of the most compelling things about this stock is that, in addition to its great technical set-up, it has signaled heavy insider buying lately, which is usually a catalyst for a big move higher in the short-term. To get a picture of what “insider buying” does for a stock, check out the recent runs in Virtusa (NASDAQ:VRTU), Tyler Technologies (NYSE:TYL), and Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK). GDOT looks great at its current price and should be a pretty good bet in the short-term.
We Would Be Buyers:
At the current price (~$13.35), or on a pullback to $13.05.
Company Profile:
Green Dot Corporation is a bank holding company. Green Dot is a financial services company providing money management solutions to a base of United States consumers. The Company is a provider of general purpose reloadable (GPR), prepaid debit cards in the United States and that its Green Dot Network is a reload network for prepaid cards in the United States. It sells its cards and offers its reload services nationwide at approximately 59,000 retail store locations, which provide consumers convenient access to its products and services. Its principal products and services consist of Green Dot-branded GPR cards, co-branded GPR cards, and MoneyPak and point-of-sale (POS), swipe reload transactions facilitated by the Green Dot Network. In December 2011, it acquired Utah-based Bonneville Bancorp, a bank holding company, and its subsidiary commercial bank, Green Dot Bank. In February 2012, its subsidiary bank became a member bank of the Federal Reserve System.
Stock Rating: 7.2
The Stock Rating indicates the combined score of our proprietary Earning Strength and Company Performance models. The rating scale is 0 – 10 with 10 being the highest.
Green Dot Corp. – Last Three Months
Green Dot Corp. – Last 12 Months
Green Dot Corp. – Last Five Years
At the time of publication the editor and affiliated companies own the following positions: GDOT
Note: Positions may be bought or sold while this publication is in circulation without notice.
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