RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.60.

RLI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Compass Point downgraded shares of RLI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of RLI from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI opened at $70.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 0.67. RLI has a 1-year low of $69.16 and a 1-year high of $91.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. RLI had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 16.26%. The firm had revenue of $36.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that RLI will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 96.3% in the second quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 21,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 10,441 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 16.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 52.7% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 385,306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,827,000 after purchasing an additional 132,975 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 23.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI in the second quarter worth about $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.