Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage on RLI (NYSE:RLI)

Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on RLI. Compass Point cut their price objective on RLI from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.80.

RLI Trading Down 0.7 %

RLI opened at $162.99 on Wednesday. RLI has a 1-year low of $125.77 and a 1-year high of $164.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.74. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 0.41.

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

RLI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in RLI by 237.7% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 207,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,864,000 after acquiring an additional 146,324 shares during the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC increased its position in RLI by 21.3% in the first quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 612,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,876,000 after purchasing an additional 107,655 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in RLI by 585.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 41,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35,569 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in RLI by 2,611.1% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 34,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,901,000 after purchasing an additional 33,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in RLI by 14.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 265,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,400,000 after purchasing an additional 33,435 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.