RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• RLI Corp. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from seven brokerages, with one sell rating, four hold ratings, and two buy ratings, and an average 12-month price target of $78.60.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.84 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.75, with a revenue of $562.28 million, far surpassing the expected $445.55 million.
• RLI recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.60.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th.

RLI Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:RLI opened at $65.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 0.65. RLI has a 52 week low of $63.92 and a 52 week high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $562.28 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that RLI will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. RLI's payout ratio is presently 18.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.15 per share, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of RLI

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in RLI by 95.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,996,643 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $722,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388,400 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 117.0% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,226,797 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $419,869,000 after buying an additional 2,817,616 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 106.6% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,750,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $220,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,212 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in RLI by 100.0% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $192,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in RLI by 97.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,861,984 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $149,569,000 after purchasing an additional 920,799 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RLI Company 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.

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.