Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Citizens (NYSE:CIA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

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

Citizens Price Performance

Shares of Citizens stock traded down $0.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $4.12. 137,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,071. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.83. The stock has a market cap of $230.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 0.46. Citizens has a 12-month low of $3.31 and a 12-month high of $6.54.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citizens news, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 12,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.65 per share, for a total transaction of $43,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 389,574 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,945.10. This trade represents a 3.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Philip Harwood purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.80 per share, with a total value of $38,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,096 shares in the company, valued at $42,164.80. This trade represents a 912.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 27,376 shares of company stock worth $102,390. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 worth $213,000 after buying an additional 5,746 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Citizens by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 238,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 18,244 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Citizens in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. 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.