Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Stock Moved Up to Hold by Zacks Research

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

CIA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Citizens in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Citizens from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Freedom Broker started coverage on Citizens in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Citizens from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.50.

Citizens Stock Performance

Shares of CIA opened at $4.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.54 million, a P/E ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 0.46. Citizens has a 52 week low of $3.31 and a 52 week high of $6.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.83.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $61.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.85 million. Citizens had a net margin of 4.55% and a return on equity of 4.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael Philip Harwood bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.80 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 912.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jon Stenberg bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.65 per share, for a total transaction of $43,800.00. Following the acquisition, 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 27,376 shares of company stock valued at $102,390. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIA. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Citizens by 15.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,405 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 5,746 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Citizens by 25.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Citizens in the third quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Citizens by 8.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 238,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 18,244 shares in the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Company Profile

Citizens, Inc (NYSE: CIA) is an insurance holding company focused primarily on life insurance products. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides coverage designed to address final expenses, mortgage protection, income replacement and other long-term financial needs.

Its product offerings have included whole life, term life, universal life and other life insurance policies, as well as related insurance solutions. Citizens serves policyholders in the United States and selected international markets, including countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has historically operated through insurance subsidiaries serving domestic and international customers.