Values First Advisors Inc. Makes New $70,000 Investment in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RLI. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in RLI in the third quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of RLI by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 45,126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,993,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of RLI by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 87,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,573,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the period. Finally, Nepsis Inc. boosted its holdings in RLI by 19.1% in the third quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 124,156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,242,000 after acquiring an additional 19,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Trading Down 2.5 %

RLI opened at $155.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.75 and its 200-day moving average is $147.21. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $125.77 and a 52-week high of $164.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.41.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $470.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on RLI shares. Compass Point upped their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.40.

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.