Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in RLI Corp. by 97.8%, acquiring 920,799 shares and bringing its total to 1,861,984 shares worth approximately $149.57 million.
• RLI Corp. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, with a yield of 0.9%, set for payment on September 19th.
• RLI's earnings exceeded analysts' expectations for the last quarter, reporting an EPS of $0.84 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.75, with revenues up 20.0% year-over-year.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 97.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,861,984 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 920,799 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.03% of RLI worth $149,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in 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 last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE RLI traded up $0.1550 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.5550. 320,389 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 610,004. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $65.14 and a twelve month high of $91.14.

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

RLI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.