Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Citizens (NYSE:CIA) from a "buy" to a "hold" and Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)", leaving the consensus analyst rating at Hold.
• Citizens beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.11 (vs. $0.08 expected) and revenue of $72.07M (vs. $67.89M), and CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 10,000 shares at about $4.81, increasing his stake by ~5%.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Citizens in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Citizens Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of CIA stock opened at $4.57 on Friday. Citizens has a 12 month low of $2.90 and a 12 month high of $6.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.44. The firm has a market cap of $229.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.43.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. Citizens had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 7.23%. The firm had revenue of $72.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.89 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.81 per share, with a total value of $48,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 208,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,953.30. This trade represents a 5.03% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 42,753 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its stake in Citizens by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 61,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Citizens by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 40,968 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Citizens by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 70,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 4,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Citizens by 31.5% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,123 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 4,582 shares during the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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