Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Grows Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,388 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,100 shares during the period. RLI makes up approximately 2.5% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned about 0.51% of RLI worth $30,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of RLI by 129.7% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 271 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the third quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth $127,000. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Compass Point boosted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.25.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RLI traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.21. 54,159 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 169,959. The business's fifty day moving average is $144.58 and its 200 day moving average is $140.29. RLI Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $149.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.37.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $444.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.05 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm's revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.92%.

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.