Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Citizens (NYSE:CIA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Citizens in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Citizens Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CIA opened at $4.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.44. The company has a market cap of $229.72 million, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.43. Citizens has a 12-month low of $2.90 and a 12-month high of $6.40.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $72.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.89 million. Citizens had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 5.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Citizens will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Citizens

In related news, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.81 per share, for a total transaction of $48,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 208,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,953.30. The trade was a 5.03% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continental General Insurance Co. grew its stake in Citizens by 274.2% in the third quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 1,614,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,902 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Citizens by 118.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,032,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 558,840 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens by 142.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 199,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 117,502 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 133.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 169,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 96,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 202,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 56,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.73% of the company’s stock.

About Citizens

Citizens, Inc (NYSE:CIA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Northern Arkansas, the company provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, small businesses and corporate clients across Northern and Central Arkansas.

Citizens offers a range of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside lending solutions such as residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans and consumer installment loans.