RLI (NYSE:RLI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of RLI from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.80.

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RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.91. 411,423 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 551,640. RLI 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $77.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.46.

RLI (NYSE:RLI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. Analysts anticipate that RLI will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 0.79%. RLI's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. This represents a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total value of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 11,200 shares of company stock worth $805,774. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 76.9% during the third 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 last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLI in the third quarter worth $70,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.