RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 110.7%, now owning 17,700 shares valued at $1.42 million.
• RLI Corp. reported earnings of $0.84 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while revenue grew 20% year-over-year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.16, yielding 0.94% annually.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 110.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in RLI were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 88.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in RLI by 56.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE RLI traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.25. 107,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,778. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.09 and its 200-day moving average is $74.50. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $65.70 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $562.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.55 million. RLI had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. 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 is 18.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RLI. 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 report on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.