Norges Bank Makes New $67 Million Investment in RLI Corp. $RLI

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,047,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,997,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.14% of RLI as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in RLI by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in RLI by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.50.

Insider Activity at RLI

In related news, Director Clark C. Kellogg acquired 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.90 per share, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,151.80. This represents a 199.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 2,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.72 per share, for a total transaction of $105,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 104,318 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,644.96. This trade represents a 1.95% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $858,955 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

RLI Stock Up 4.1%

NYSE RLI opened at $52.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.41. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $47.26 and a 52 week high of $76.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.91.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $423.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.47 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. RLI’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.82%.

RLI Company Profile

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.