Wall Street Zen Downgrades Citizens (NYSE:CIA) to Hold

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

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

Citizens Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:CIA opened at $4.57 on Friday. Citizens has a twelve month low of $2.90 and a twelve month high of $6.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.72 million, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.43.

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 firm had revenue of $72.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.89 million. Citizens had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 5.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Citizens

In other news, CEO Jon Stenberg bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.81 per share, for a total transaction of $48,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 208,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,953.30. This trade represents a 5.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIA. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Citizens by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 39,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 8,721 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Citizens by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 220,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 24,905 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Citizens by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 473,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 21,963 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Citizens by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 70,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,420 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Citizens by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 215,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 13,689 shares during the period. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Citizens Company Profile

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.