RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Receives $82.80 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.80.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on RLI shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE RLI opened at $75.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.38. RLI has a 1 year low of $67.53 and a 1 year high of $91.15. The company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.34.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. As a group, analysts expect that RLI will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey D. Fick bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.13 per share, for a total transaction of $144,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 142,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,246,859.93. This represents a 1.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $214,484.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,835.68. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in RLI by 0.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in RLI by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in RLI by 2.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in RLI by 76.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in RLI by 2.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.