RLI (NYSE:RLI) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by StockNews.com

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered shares of RLI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

RLI Stock Up 1.8 %

RLI traded up $1.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $74.53. The stock had a trading volume of 362,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 363,810. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34. RLI has a twelve month low of $68.50 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other RLI news, Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total value of $112,155.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $214,484.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,745,835.68. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLI. Pecaut & CO. raised its holdings in RLI by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Pecaut & CO. now owns 3,983 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,394,544 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $192,354,000 after buying an additional 1,197,272 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,479,000 after buying an additional 127,217 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in RLI by 107.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 98,365 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,902,000 after acquiring an additional 50,951 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in RLI by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 184,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,847,000 after acquiring an additional 94,015 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.