RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.40.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total value of $33,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 214,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its stake in RLI by 1.2% in the third quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 5,757 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in RLI by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 45.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of RLI by 5.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE RLI opened at $162.64 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.29. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $132.30 and a fifty-two week high of $182.29. The company has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87 and a beta of 0.47.

RLI’s stock is set to split on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLI will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $4.29 per share. This is an increase from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.75%.

About RLI

RLI Corp., an insurance holding company, underwrites property and casualty insurance. Its Casualty segment provides commercial and personal coverage products; and general liability products, such as coverage for third-party liability of commercial insureds, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile.