Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Upgraded to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Citizens in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Citizens from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Freedom Broker initiated coverage on shares of Citizens in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Citizens has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

Citizens Trading Down 1.3%

CIA stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.87. The stock had a trading volume of 93,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,089. Citizens has a 52 week low of $3.56 and a 52 week high of $6.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.48.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens

In related news, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.65 per share, with a total value of $43,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 389,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,945.10. This trade represents a 3.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Citizens by 92.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 5,141 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Citizens by 3,686.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 14,157 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Citizens during the second quarter worth approximately $63,000. 13.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.