RLI (NYSE:RLI) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $174.88 and last traded at $174.71, with a volume of 6865 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $173.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.40.

RLI Trading Up 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.41.

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

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $470.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. RLI had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 23.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $4.29 per share. This represents a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the first quarter valued at approximately $200,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 3,993 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 585.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35,569 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the first quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in RLI in the 1st quarter worth about $233,000. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Company Profile

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.