Comerica Bank Buys 17,365 Shares of RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 97.3%, now holding 35,216 shares valued at approximately $2.83 million.
• RLI reported a 20% year-over-year revenue increase for the last quarter, reaching $562.28 million, with an EPS of $0.84, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, which will be paid on September 19th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 97.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,365 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in RLI were worth $2,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in RLI by 95.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,996,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $722,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,388,400 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in RLI by 117.0% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,226,797 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $419,869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817,616 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in RLI by 106.6% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,750,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $220,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,212 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $192,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in RLI by 97.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,861,984 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $149,569,000 after acquiring an additional 920,799 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.19. 158,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,716. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.65. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $65.14 and a twelve month high of $91.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.63 and a 200 day moving average of $73.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

RLI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. RLI's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

RLI 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.