Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Citizens from “hold” to “strong sell,” while Weiss Ratings also lowered its assessment; MarketBeat’s consensus rating remains “Hold.”
• Citizens reported quarterly EPS of $0.01, missing the $0.07 analyst consensus, while revenue of $61.9 million fell short of the $63.85 million estimate.
• The stock opened at $3.99, near its 52-week low of $3.56, despite insider buying that included the CEO’s purchase of 12,000 shares at an average price of $3.65.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Citizens from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Citizens Price Performance

Shares of CIA stock opened at $3.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $223.10 million, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.48. Citizens has a 1-year low of $3.56 and a 1-year high of $6.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.31.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Citizens had a return on equity of 4.73% and a net margin of 4.55%.The company had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.85 million. Analysts expect that Citizens will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.65 per share, for a total transaction of $43,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 389,574 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,945.10. This trade represents a 3.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders bought 27,376 shares of company stock worth $112,590 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Citizens by 4.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 42,753 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC lifted its position in Citizens by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 61,184 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Citizens by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 40,968 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 worth $340,000 after buying an additional 4,420 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Citizens by 31.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,123 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 4,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.73% of the company's stock.

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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