Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 1,324.1% in Q1, owning 50,256 shares worth approximately $4 million after acquiring an additional 46,727 shares.
• RLI Corp. reported earnings of $0.84 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations, and showed a 20% revenue increase year-over-year, reaching $562.28 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, with a 1.0% yield, and a dividend payout ratio of 18.34%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 1,324.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,256 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 46,727 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned about 0.05% of RLI worth $4,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of RLI by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in RLI by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock traded down $0.72 on Friday, hitting $67.04. 488,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.97. RLI Corp. has a 1-year low of $65.14 and a 1-year high of $91.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $562.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.55 million. RLI had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 17.81%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at RLI

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

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.