26,600 Shares in RLI Corp. $RLI Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in RLI Corp., buying 26,600 shares worth about $1.52 million in the first quarter.
• Analyst sentiment on RLI remains cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $61.50, while some firms recently downgraded it to sell.
• RLI reported solid fundamentals and shareholder returns, including Q1 EPS of $0.83 topping estimates and a higher quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, up from $0.16.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 607,176 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,847,000 after purchasing an additional 48,563 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in RLI by 15.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,422,596 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $92,782,000 after purchasing an additional 191,020 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in RLI by 1,030.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 31,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in RLI in the third quarter worth $1,240,000. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut RLI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut RLI from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of RLI from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.42 per share, for a total transaction of $106,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,318 shares in the company, valued at $5,465,827.56. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.00 per share, with a total value of $260,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 148,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,747,480. This represents a 3.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955 in the last 90 days. 2.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $62.51 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $52.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.82. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $47.26 and a 1 year high of $72.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $423.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.47 million. RLI had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 20.81%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. RLI's payout ratio is currently 16.82%.

About RLI

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.

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