Citizens Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CIA)

02 Oct 2026, 14:20 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA – Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 5,030 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 189% compared to the average daily volume of 1,742 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CIA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Citizens from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Citizens from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Freedom Broker started coverage on shares of Citizens in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Citizens in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

Read Our Latest Report on CIA

Citizens Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of CIA stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $3.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,513. The stock has a market cap of $197.80 million, a PE ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.95 and a 200-day moving average of $4.86. Citizens has a 12 month low of $3.38 and a 12 month high of $6.54.

Citizens (NYSE:CIA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.85 million. Citizens had a net margin of 4.55% and a return on equity of 4.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Citizens will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Citizens

In other news, Director Michael Philip Harwood bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.80 per share, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,096 shares in the company, valued at $42,164.80. The trade was a 912.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon Stenberg purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.65 per share, for a total transaction of $43,800.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 389,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders bought a total of 27,376 shares of company stock valued at $102,390 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Citizens

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Citizens by 25.0% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 66,456 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 13,300 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Citizens by 15.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,405 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,746 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Citizens by 8.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 238,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 18,244 shares during the period. 13.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Citizens

(Get Free Report)

Citizens, Inc (NYSE: CIA) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides life insurance products designed to help individuals and families address final expenses, income protection and other financial needs.

Its product offerings include final expense insurance, ordinary life insurance and other forms of life coverage. Citizens distributes its policies through independent agents and other insurance representatives, serving customers in the United States and selected international markets.