RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $166.25.

RLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on RLI from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on RLI from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maren Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter worth about $67,149,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter worth about $52,592,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 237.7% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 207,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,864,000 after buying an additional 146,324 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 203,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,029,000 after buying an additional 80,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 585.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,184,000 after buying an additional 35,569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $151.73 on Tuesday. RLI has a 12-month low of $125.77 and a 12-month high of $153.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.22.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.37. RLI had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 20.78%. The business had revenue of $416.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that RLI will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. RLI’s payout ratio is 16.02%.

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.