Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 117,502 Shares of Citizens, Inc. $CIA

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Citizens, Inc., acquiring an additional 117,502 shares, raising its ownership by 142.8% to a total of 199,809 shares valued at approximately $909,000.
• A recent report upgraded Citizens, Inc. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, with the stock currently having an average rating of "Strong Buy" from analysts.
• As of the latest trading session, Citizens, Inc. shares are trading down by 3.6%, with a market cap of $285.36 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA - Free Report) by 142.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,809 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 117,502 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Citizens worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truffle Hound Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens by 85.7% in the first quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 700,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,185,000 after buying an additional 323,137 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Citizens by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 202,347 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 66,718 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Citizens by 133.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 169,308 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 96,836 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Citizens by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 157,169 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Citizens by 5.7% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 13.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Citizens Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of Citizens stock opened at $5.68 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.29. The company has a market cap of $285.36 million, a P/E ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 0.41. Citizens, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.90 and a 1-year high of $5.99.

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

About Citizens

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.

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