Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CIA. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Citizens from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Freedom Broker initiated coverage on shares of Citizens in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Citizens in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.50.

Citizens Price Performance

Shares of Citizens stock opened at $3.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $197.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.85. Citizens has a 52-week low of $3.38 and a 52-week high of $6.54.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.85 million. Citizens had a return on equity of 4.73% and a net margin of 4.55%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Citizens will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Citizens

In other news, Director Michael Philip Harwood purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.80 per share, with a total value of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,096 shares in the company, valued at $42,164.80. This trade represents a 912.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 12,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.65 per share, with a total value of $43,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 389,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,945.10. The trade was a 3.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 27,376 shares of company stock worth $102,390. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens by 8.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 238,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 18,244 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Citizens by 25.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 66,456 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Citizens by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,405 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.73% of the company’s stock.

About Citizens

Citizens, Inc (NYSE:CIA) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Through its subsidiaries, the company primarily provides life insurance and related products to individuals and families in the United States and selected international markets.

Its product offerings include final-expense and burial insurance, ordinary whole-life and term-life policies, endowment products, and certain accident and health insurance coverage. These products are designed to provide financial protection, death benefits, and other forms of insurance support for policyholders and their beneficiaries.

Citizens has historically served customers in the United States as well as markets in Latin America and Asia.