RLI (NYSE:RLI) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lowered RLI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

RLI Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of RLI stock opened at $74.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34. RLI has a 52-week low of $68.50 and a 52-week high of $91.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 0.72.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $36.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $442.20 million. RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RLI will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.74%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,835.68. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,093.58. The trade was a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in RLI by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,608,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $759,577,000 after buying an additional 41,884 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $192,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,272 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in RLI by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,331,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,475,000 after acquiring an additional 19,695 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in RLI by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,024,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $168,907,000 after acquiring an additional 116,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in RLI by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,136,000 after purchasing an additional 7,609 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.