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

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.60.

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

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.85. 336,523 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,199. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.44. The company has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.38. RLI has a 12-month low of $68.50 and a 12-month high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $36.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.20 million. RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm's revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLI will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.05%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $961,093.58. This represents a 10.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,745,835.68. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of RLI by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in RLI by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,238 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in RLI during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. 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.