RLI (NYSE:RLI) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• RLI shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $67.28 and closing well above the previous $63.90 level.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: RLI has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $62.40 price target, despite UBS assigning a higher $74 target.
• RLI exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.86 versus the $0.54 consensus, while revenue fell short of estimates; it also maintains a $0.18 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.1%.

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $67.28 and last traded at $67.0360, with a volume of 518,650 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLI from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price objective on RLI and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $53.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $62.40.

RLI Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.88.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $476.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $533.51 million. RLI had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 20.34%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 2.90 EPS for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. RLI's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.78%.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of RLI by 28.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 835 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 62.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 629 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,534 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in RLI by 1.8% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Securities CORP. increased its position in RLI by 12.2% in the second quarter. Brighton Securities CORP. now owns 4,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Company Profile

RLI Corp. NYSE: RLI is a specialty insurance company that underwrites property and casualty insurance products for commercial and personal customers. The company focuses on specialized risks that may not be adequately served by standard insurance carriers.

RLI's offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, professional liability insurance, surety bonds, transportation-related insurance, and personal lines such as homeowners and personal umbrella coverage. Its products are distributed through independent agents, brokers, and other insurance intermediaries.

Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, RLI serves customers primarily throughout the United States.

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