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

Key Points

• RLI Corp. has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, four hold ratings, and two buy ratings among the seven research firms covering the stock.
• In its latest earnings report, RLI reported $0.84 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.75, and its quarterly revenue increased by 20% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, with a payout scheduled for September 19th, reflecting a 1.0% yield on an annualized basis.

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages 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 research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 3,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.15 per share, with a total value of $207,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,807,817.50. This represents a 3.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RLI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,388,400 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,817,616 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in shares of RLI by 106.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,750,738 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $220,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,212 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in RLI by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $192,354,000 after buying an additional 1,197,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in RLI by 97.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,861,984 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $149,569,000 after buying an additional 920,799 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RLI traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.01. 466,797 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 455,970. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.77. RLI has a 52-week low of $65.14 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09. RLI had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The firm had revenue of $562.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLI will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.34%.

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.