Empowered Funds LLC Takes Position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $840,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in RLI by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,393,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $680,866,000 after acquiring an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in RLI by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,817,000 after purchasing an additional 50,654 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of RLI by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 813,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $126,110,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Port Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 759,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $117,783,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maren Capital LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 4.3% during the third quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 674,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,570,000 after acquiring an additional 27,940 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of RLI opened at $75.16 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $67.53 and a twelve month high of $91.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.46.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.49%.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774. Insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point dropped their price target on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

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.