Citizens Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CIA)

by · The Markets Daily

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIAGet Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 2,458 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 164% compared to the average volume of 930 put options.

Citizens Stock Performance

Shares of CIA traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.18. The company had a trading volume of 9,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,745. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.43. Citizens has a 1-year low of $2.90 and a 1-year high of $6.40. The company has a market capitalization of $260.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.48.

Citizens (NYSE:CIAGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $72.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.89 million. Citizens had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 7.23%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Citizens will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Citizens

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CIA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Citizens by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,441,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,817,000 after acquiring an additional 21,783 shares during the last quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. grew its position in Citizens by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 2,176,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,513,000 after acquiring an additional 562,419 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Citizens by 118.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,032,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,603,000 after acquiring an additional 558,840 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Citizens by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 617,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 43,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Citizens by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 473,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 21,963 shares in the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Citizens from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Citizens in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Citizens currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CIA

Citizens Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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