Zacks Research Weighs in on RLI’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:RLI)

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2028 EPS estimates for RLI in a note issued to investors on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the insurance provider will earn $0.49 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.48. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for RLI’s current full-year earnings is $2.75 per share.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on RLI. Weiss Ratings cut shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.50.

RLI Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $51.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.41. RLI has a 52 week low of $47.26 and a 52 week high of $77.07.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.47 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 16.82%.

Insider Activity at RLI

In related news, Director Clark C. Kellogg bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.90 per share, with a total value of $152,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,502 shares in the company, valued at $229,151.80. This represents a 199.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.42 per share, with a total value of $106,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 102,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,465,827.56. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in RLI by 115.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,529,000 after buying an additional 30,170 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in RLI by 110.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 185,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,902,000 after buying an additional 97,501 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 472.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after buying an additional 24,079 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 46.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in RLI by 16,550.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 23,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,689,000 after buying an additional 23,832 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

About RLI

RLI Corporation (NYSE:RLI) is a specialty property and casualty insurance company focused on underwriting niche risks for businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the company operates through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering customized coverage solutions. RLI’s approach emphasizes disciplined underwriting, targeted product development and strong customer service to maintain profitability and long-term growth.

Founded in 1965 as Replacement Lens, Inc, RLI initially provided insurance for contact lens manufacturers before shifting its focus to specialty insurance in the 1980s.