RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Short Interest Down 15.1% in December

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 418,100 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the November 30th total of 492,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 166,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Compass Point upped their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.40.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI opened at $165.89 on Monday. RLI has a 52-week low of $132.01 and a 52-week high of $182.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.58 and a 200 day moving average of $155.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 0.46.

RLI shares are going to split on the morning of Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.54 million. RLI had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 23.77%. RLI’s revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that RLI will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $4.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.75%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 214,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in RLI by 620.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in RLI by 45.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in RLI by 62.5% in the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.