Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 61,986 Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 61,986 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $249,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of Citizens at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CIA. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Citizens by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 10,267 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Citizens by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 46,116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Citizens by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 145,316 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 7,035 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Citizens in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Citizens by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 554,894 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 68,824 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Citizens news, CEO Jon Stenberg bought 106,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.89 per share, for a total transaction of $413,662.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $483,772.07. This represents a 590.02% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Citizens from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Citizens Trading Down 1.7%

Citizens stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.04. The company had a trading volume of 127,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,092. Citizens, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.33 and a 12-month high of $5.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $4.37 and its 200-day moving average is $4.52. The company has a market capitalization of $201.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.44.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.03). Citizens had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 8.87%. The company had revenue of $63.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Citizens, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citizens Company Profile

Citizens, Inc provides life insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Life Insurance and Home Service Insurance. The Life Insurance segment issues ordinary whole life insurance and endowment policies in the United States dollar-denominated amounts to non-U.S.