RLI (NYSE:RLI) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.64 EPS

RLI (NYSE:RLI) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.64), Zacks reports. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%.

RLI Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE RLI traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $78.11. 619,149 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,349. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.47. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $67.04 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14.

RLI Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $2.145 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is 12.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at $36,421,205.05. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RLI. Wolfe Research began coverage on RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on RLI from $82.50 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Compass Point raised their price target on RLI from $85.00 to $92.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, RLI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.20.

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.