Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Citizens Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Citizens stock opened at $4.27 on Wednesday. Citizens has a 12-month low of $1.85 and a 12-month high of $5.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.15 million, a P/E ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.59.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.03). Citizens had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 8.87%. The firm had revenue of $63.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.66 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Citizens

In related news, CEO Jon Stenberg bought 106,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.89 per share, for a total transaction of $413,662.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,363 shares in the company, valued at $483,772.07. The trade was a 590.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Citizens by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 3,176 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Citizens during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in shares of Citizens during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 202,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 66,718 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Citizens by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 427,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.