Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in RLI Corp. by 219.3% during the 1st quarter, owning 139,702 shares valued at approximately $11.22 million.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on RLI, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.60, influenced by varied ratings from different firms.
• RLI Corp. reported earnings of $0.84 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 219.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 139,702 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 95,946 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.15% of RLI worth $11,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $17,854,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in RLI by 74.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,286 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 13,747 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI traded up $0.1550 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.5550. 320,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 583,714. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.66. RLI Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $65.14 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.50.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. RLI had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 17.81%.The firm had revenue of $562.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. This represents a 3.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLI has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

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.