Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Key Points

• Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 97% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 15,076 shares, bringing its total to 30,621 shares valued at approximately $2.46 million.
• RLI Corp. reported earnings per share of $0.84 for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.75, with revenue reaching $562.28 million, up 20% year-over-year.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.16 per share, marking an increase from the previous $0.15 and providing an annualized yield of 0.94%.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 97.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,076 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in RLI were worth $2,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,569,000 after buying an additional 9,763 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 112,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 56,208 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 13,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 6,612 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in RLI by 112.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of RLI stock traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.78. 846,174 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 742,861. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $72.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. RLI had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 17.81%. The business had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. RLI's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on RLI. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Compass Point downgraded RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.16% 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.