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.
Get Our Latest Research Report on RLI
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
(
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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.
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