Northland upgrades Green Dot to 'outperform' amid strategic review

Northland Securities upgrades digital bank and fintech firm Green Dot GDOT.N to "outperform" from "market perform"

Says GDOT has been talking about a turnaround for several years which hasn't materialized and it believes the bank is serious about a sale

GDOT last month announced it had hired Citigroup C.N to explore potential strategic alternatives

Brokerage says GDOT could be worth more than its current market cap in a sale, with the bank's various businesses likely to attract significant value, especially when broken apart

Expects GDOT's tax and payroll card businesses as well its Utah banking charter to attract interest

One of 5 brokerages rate the stock "buy", 3 "hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT $11 - data compiled by LSEG

As of last close, GDOT stock down 37% YTD