Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $5.42 and traded as high as $5.64. Citizens shares last traded at $5.6250, with a volume of 83,849 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Citizens in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Citizens from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Citizens Stock Down 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $280.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.42.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $72.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.89 million. Citizens had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 7.23%. On average, analysts predict that Citizens, Inc. will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens

In other news, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.81 per share, with a total value of $48,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 208,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,953.30. This represents a 5.03% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continental General Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in Citizens by 274.2% during the third quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 1,614,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,475,000 after buying an additional 1,182,902 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Citizens by 18.7% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 37,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 5,965 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in Citizens by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 61,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Citizens during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Citizens by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 40,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Citizens

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.