United Services Automobile Association Takes $428,000 Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired a new stake of 5,348 shares in RLI Corp., valued at approximately $428,000.
• Other institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in RLI Corp., with Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and New York State Teachers Retirement System each raising their holdings by around 100%.
• RLI Corp. reported strong quarterly earnings, with revenue up 20% year-over-year and an EPS of $0.84, exceeding analyst expectations.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,348 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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. lifted 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 RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in RLI by 88.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLI traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.92. 465,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,892. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $65.14 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.69.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,817.50. The trade was a 3.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About RLI

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.