Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $840,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of RLI by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other RLI news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Fick purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.13 per share, with a total value of $144,260.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 142,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,246,859.93. The trade was a 1.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.09% of the company's stock.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $74.59. 434,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,908. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.02 and its 200-day moving average is $79.19. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $67.53 and a one year high of $91.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.46.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. As a group, analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from RLI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. RLI's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of RLI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.80.

RLI 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.