RLI (NYSE:RLI) Downgraded to Underperform Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) from a buy rating to an underperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $61.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $95.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of RLI from $85.00 to $92.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research note 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

RLI Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $72.52 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.91. RLI has a 52-week low of $67.04 and a 52-week high of $91.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.47.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.38%. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLI will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $2.145 per share. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the director now directly owns 429,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 9,200 shares of company stock valued at $660,774 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 5,757 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 5.8% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 2.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.