RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $177.40.

Several brokerages have issued reports on RLI. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in RLI by 585.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,649 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35,569 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of RLI by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 3,993 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the first quarter worth about $515,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in RLI in the first quarter worth about $2,654,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in RLI by 117.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,571 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,634 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RLI Price Performance

NYSE:RLI traded up $5.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $172.09. 200,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 156,560. RLI has a 1-year low of $125.77 and a 1-year high of $173.02. The firm's 50-day moving average is $156.60 and its 200-day moving average is $148.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.41.

RLI's stock is going 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 closing bell on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that RLI will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $4.29 per share. This is a boost from RLI's previous None dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. RLI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

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.