RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

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

RLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Compass Point downgraded RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $72.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.72. RLI has a 52 week low of $68.50 and a 52 week high of $91.15. The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70 and a beta of 0.70.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $36.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. RLI's quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that RLI will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. RLI's dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in RLI by 100.0% in 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 lifted its position in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in RLI by 88.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in RLI by 100.0% in the first quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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