Strs Ohio Buys Shares of 21,667 RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested $1.74 million in RLI Corp., acquiring 21,667 shares of the insurance provider's stock during the first quarter.
• RLI Corp. has received a rating upgrade from sell to hold by Wall Street Zen, with an average price target of $78.60.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,667 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,741,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 396 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $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 purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLI traded down $1.06 on Friday, reaching $64.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,207,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,755. The stock's 50-day moving average is $67.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.65. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $64.59 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

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

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. RLI's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,807,817.50. This trade represents a 3.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.