RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $166.25.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Compass Point dropped their price target on RLI from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of RLI in a report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in RLI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,024,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in RLI by 585.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,184,000 after buying an additional 35,569 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of RLI by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 3,993 shares during the period. Maren Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter worth about $67,149,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $515,000. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $152.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.35. RLI has a 1 year low of $125.77 and a 1 year high of $155.59.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.37. RLI had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 20.78%. The business had revenue of $416.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that RLI will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. RLI’s payout ratio is 16.02%.

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.