Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 76,954 Shares of Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA - Free Report) by 7,178.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,026 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 76,954 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.16% of Citizens worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Citizens by 14.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new position in Citizens during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,511,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Citizens by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 269,581 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Citizens by 5.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 5,696 shares during the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIA remained flat at $3.53 during mid-day trading on Friday. 133,059 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 98,870. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.03 million, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.38. Citizens, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.33 and a 12 month high of $5.95.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.03). Citizens had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 11.50%. The business had revenue of $63.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.66 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Citizens, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Citizens from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Activity at Citizens

In other news, CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.69 per share, with a total value of $110,700.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $660,569.04. The trade was a 20.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 143,690 shares of company stock valued at $551,768. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.