Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 19,286 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,286 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.25% of RLI worth $14,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of RLI by 1.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,082,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,097,000 after purchasing an additional 11,965 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 18.1% during the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 526,679 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,570,000 after acquiring an additional 80,552 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 39.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 400,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,428,000 after acquiring an additional 112,988 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in RLI by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 395,547 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,751,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 2.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 320,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,558,000 after acquiring an additional 6,896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $143.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.79 and its 200-day moving average is $139.19. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $123.04 and a 1 year high of $149.20.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. RLI had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $444.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.25.

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.