RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Raises Dividend to $0.29 Per Share

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.29 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27.

RLI has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 49 years. RLI has a payout ratio of 18.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect RLI to earn $5.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.2%.

RLI Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:RLI traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.57. 136,817 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 175,268. RLI has a one year low of $123.04 and a one year high of $149.20. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $144.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.21.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $444.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.05 million. RLI had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 20.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that RLI will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of RLI from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RLI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.25.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.