Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Citizens (NYSE:CIA)

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 3,001 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 113% compared to the typical volume of 1,407 put options.

Citizens Trading Up 2.2%

CIA opened at $3.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.48 and its 200-day moving average is $5.03. Citizens has a 1-year low of $3.46 and a 1-year high of $6.54. The company has a market cap of $200.20 million, a P/E ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.43.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $61.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.85 million. Citizens had a return on equity of 4.73% and a net margin of 4.55%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Citizens will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CIA. Citigroup assumed coverage on Citizens in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citizens from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Freedom Broker assumed coverage on Citizens in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Citizens from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citizens news, Director Michael Philip Harwood bought 10,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.80 per share, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,164.80. The trade was a 912.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jon Stenberg acquired 12,000 shares of Citizens stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.65 per share, with a total value of $43,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 389,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,945.10. This trade represents a 3.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 27,376 shares of company stock worth $102,390. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Citizens in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Citizens by 3,686.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 14,157 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Citizens in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Citizens during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.73% of the company’s stock.

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.