Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Citizens, Inc. stock price has surpassed its 200-day moving average of $4.26, trading as high as $5.46.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Citizens from a "sell" rating to a "hold," reflecting a generally positive outlook with an average rating of "Strong Buy."
• The company reported earnings of $0.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and indicating a return on equity of 6.42%.

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.26 and traded as high as $5.46. Citizens shares last traded at $5.45, with a volume of 126,895 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citizens from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Citizens currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Citizens Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $280.84 million, a P/E ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $4.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.27.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $62.78 million. On average, analysts forecast that Citizens, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens during the fourth quarter valued at $291,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Citizens by 7,178.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 78,026 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 76,954 shares during the period. Truffle Hound Capital LLC increased its stake in Citizens by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 700,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,185,000 after buying an additional 323,137 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Citizens by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 31,890 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 9,064 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Citizens by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.73% of the company's stock.

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.