Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. Increases Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,560 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,280 shares during the quarter. RLI comprises about 1.1% of Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in RLI were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Compass Point lowered RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.60.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.13. 512,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 392,036. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 0.67. 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 Corp. has a 1-year low of $69.16 and a 1-year high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $36.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company 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 yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.05%.

RLI Company 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.