RLI (NYSE:RLI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.09, Zacks reports. RLI had a return on equity of 16.26% and a net margin of 16.22%.

RLI Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of RLI traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $69.24. The company had a trading volume of 627,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,725. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $73.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. RLI has a 52-week low of $69.16 and a 52-week high of $91.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.67.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. RLI's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RLI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point lowered shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

Institutional Trading of RLI

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 472.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,177 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 24,079 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in RLI by 110.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 185,504 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,902,000 after purchasing an additional 97,501 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in RLI by 115.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,386 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,529,000 after buying an additional 30,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company's stock.

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.

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