RLI (NYSE:RLI) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) from a buy rating to an underperform rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $61.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $95.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Compass Point raised their price target on RLI from $85.00 to $92.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.80.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $72.52 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.91. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $67.04 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.38%. On average, research analysts forecast that RLI will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $2.145 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.49%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In related news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Fick purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.13 per share, for a total transaction of $144,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 142,061 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,859.93. This trade represents a 1.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,200 shares of company stock worth $660,774. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in RLI by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in RLI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in RLI by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in RLI by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in RLI by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.