StockNews.com Upgrades Citizens (NYSE:CIA) to Hold

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

Citizens Price Performance

NYSE:CIA traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.68. 163,553 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,552. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.11. Citizens has a 12-month low of $1.78 and a 12-month high of $5.95.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.66 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Citizens will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citizens

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Citizens by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 554,894 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,225,000 after buying an additional 68,824 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Citizens by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 458,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 10,235 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 427,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Citizens in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,511,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Citizens by 1.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.73% of the company’s stock.

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.