Citizens (NYSE:CIA) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $4.35 and traded as high as $4.61. Citizens shares last traded at $4.54, with a volume of 88,802 shares changing hands.

The insurance provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $63.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.66 million. Citizens had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 11.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Singular Research upgraded shares of Citizens to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Institutional Trading of Citizens

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 269,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 46,116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,901 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,176 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 427,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Citizens by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 106,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 5,696 shares in the last quarter. 13.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Citizens Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.06 million, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.11.

About Citizens

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.