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Should Value Investors Buy Green Dot (GDOT) Stock?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is Green Dot (GDOT - Free Report) . GDOT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 22.25, which compares to its industry's average of 29.43. Over the past year, GDOT's Forward P/E has been as high as 23.10 and as low as 7.34, with a median of 14.27.

Value investors also frequently use the P/S ratio. This metric is found by dividing a stock's price with the company's revenue. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. GDOT has a P/S ratio of 1.87. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 4.3.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that GDOT has a P/CF ratio of 12.33. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. GDOT's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 25.14. Over the past year, GDOT's P/CF has been as high as 14.69 and as low as 4.85, with a median of 8.16.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Green Dot is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, GDOT sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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