RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Increases Dividend to $4.29 Per Share

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) declared a None dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of 4.29 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, December 20th. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from RLI's previous None dividend of $2.25.

RLI has increased its dividend by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 50 consecutive years. RLI has a dividend payout ratio of 18.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect RLI to earn $6.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.5%.

RLI Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of RLI stock traded up $5.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $172.09. The stock had a trading volume of 200,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,960. RLI has a 1-year low of $125.77 and a 1-year high of $173.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average is $156.60 and its 200-day moving average is $148.73.

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

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. RLI had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $470.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that RLI will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RLI shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $182.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.