Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.34 and traded as high as $5.50. Citizens shares last traded at $5.46, with a volume of 89,441 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CIA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Citizens from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Citizens from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Citizens currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Citizens Stock Down 9.9%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.24 and a 200-day moving average of $5.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.73 million, a P/E ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.47.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.03. Citizens had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 7.12%.The firm had revenue of $70.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.89 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Citizens, Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 10,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.82 per share, with a total value of $48,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 327,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,906.68. This trade represents a 3.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 20,100 shares of company stock worth $96,753 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Citizens by 92.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 5,141 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in Citizens during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Citizens by 3,686.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 14,157 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Citizens during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 13.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.