Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Citizens (NYSE:CIA)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Investors purchased 3,001 put options in Citizens, about 113% above the typical daily volume, signaling heightened bearish or hedging activity.
• Shares fell to $3.49: The stock traded near its 52-week low of $3.46 after Citizens missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.01 EPS versus the $0.07 consensus estimate.
• Analyst and insider signals were mixed: The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $5.50 target, while company insiders purchased 27,376 shares worth roughly $102,390 over the past three months.

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 3,001 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 113% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,407 put options.

Citizens Price Performance

Shares of CIA traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $3.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,210. The company has a market capitalization of $195.39 million, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.43. Citizens has a fifty-two week low of $3.46 and a fifty-two week high of $6.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.04.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.85 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CIA. Citigroup started coverage on Citizens in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Citizens from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Freedom Broker assumed coverage on Citizens in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $5.50 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Citizens from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Citizens has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.50.

Insider Activity at Citizens

In other news, Director Michael Philip Harwood purchased 10,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.80 per share, with a total value of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,096 shares in the company, valued at $42,164.80. The trade was a 912.41% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon Stenberg bought 12,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.65 per share, with a total value of $43,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders purchased 27,376 shares of company stock worth $102,390. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citizens by 25.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 66,456 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Citizens by 15.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 5,746 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens by 8.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 238,487 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 18,244 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Citizens by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 39,301 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 8,721 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Citizens by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 473,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 21,963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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