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

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Citizens Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CIA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,872. Citizens has a 52 week low of $1.95 and a 52 week high of $5.95. The stock has a market cap of $216.85 million, a PE ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.26. The company's fifty day moving average price is $4.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.60.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.07 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 firm had revenue of $63.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.66 million. Research analysts anticipate that Citizens will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Citizens

In other Citizens news, CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 106,340 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.89 per share, for a total transaction of $413,662.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 124,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $483,772.07. This represents a 590.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CIA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Citizens by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 269,581 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Citizens by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 46,116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 2,901 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Citizens by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,176 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Citizens by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 427,347 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,714,000 after buying an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Citizens by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. 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.