Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Citizens Inc. has received an upgrade from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• The company's stock rose 6.3%, with current trading around $4.56 and a market cap of $228.73 million.
• CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 30,000 shares of Citizens stock, increasing his ownership by 20.13% to a total of 179,016 shares.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Citizens Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIA traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $4.97. 72,982 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 172,196. Citizens has a 12 month low of $2.71 and a 12 month high of $5.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.74 and a 200-day moving average of $4.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.99 million, a P/E ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.09. Citizens had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 6.42%. The business had revenue of $62.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.78 million. Equities research analysts predict that Citizens will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Citizens

In other news, CEO Jon Stenberg bought 30,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.69 per share, with a total value of $110,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 179,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,569.04. This trade represents a 20.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 37,350 shares of company stock worth $138,105. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in Citizens during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Citizens during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in Citizens during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $101,000. 13.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.