Wasatch Advisors LP Grows Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,631,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,051,318 shares during the period. RLI accounts for about 1.4% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 3.95% of RLI worth $214,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $604,542,000 after buying an additional 310,857 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of RLI by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,875,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,823,000 after acquiring an additional 124,687 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in RLI by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,260,000 after acquiring an additional 67,025 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in RLI by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,567,000 after acquiring an additional 21,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maren Capital LLC raised its stake in RLI by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,701,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $108,841,000 after acquiring an additional 11,853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLI from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of RLI from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.38. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $47.26 and a 1 year high of $69.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.67.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.11. RLI had a net margin of 22.22% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The firm had revenue of $575.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. RLI’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is 15.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other RLI news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.00 per share, with a total value of $104,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 150,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,851,480. The trade was a 1.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.72 per share, with a total value of $105,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 104,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,644.96. This represents a 1.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $858,955. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

RLI 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.