Equitable Trust Co. Grows Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 175.7% in the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 5,183 shares, bringing its total holdings to 8,133 shares valued at approximately $653,000.
• RLI Corp. reported $0.84 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.75, and generated $562.28 million in revenue, exceeding the forecast of $445.55 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.15 to $0.16, representing a 0.94% yield, with an annualized dividend payout ratio of 18.34%.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 175.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,183 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in RLI were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 88.5% during 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. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during 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. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

RLI Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of RLI stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.53. 93,417 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 510,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.25 and a 200-day moving average of $74.56. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $66.25 and a 12 month high of $91.14.

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

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.