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

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 11,186 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,728% compared to the typical daily volume of 612 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Citizens from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Citizens Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CIA traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $4.58. 81,715 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 88,871. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.53. The company has a market cap of $228.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.11. Citizens has a 52 week low of $1.78 and a 52 week high of $5.95.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $63.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.66 million. Citizens had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 8.87%. On average, analysts anticipate that Citizens will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Citizens in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in shares of Citizens in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Citizens during the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Citizens in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $120,000. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Company Profile

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.