Redmond Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Redmond Asset Management LLC doubled its stake in RLI Corp., owning 18,524 shares worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 9,262 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their holdings significantly, with Vanguard Group Inc. acquiring 4.4 million additional shares, lifting its position by 95.2%.
• RLI Corp. reported a strong quarterly earnings result, with $0.84 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and marking a 20% revenue growth compared to the same quarter last year.

Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 100.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,524 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,262 shares during the quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC's holdings in RLI were worth $1,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RLI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,854,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in RLI by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in RLI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in RLI by 74.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,286 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,321,000 after acquiring an additional 13,747 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in RLI by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

RLI Trading Up 1.5%

RLI stock traded up $0.9840 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.7940. The company had a trading volume of 422,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,835. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.79 and a 200 day moving average of $73.73. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $65.14 and a 12 month high of $91.14.

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

RLI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. RLI's payout ratio is currently 18.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Compass Point cut shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.60.

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.