Compass Point Raises RLI (NYSE:RLI) Price Target to $175.00

RLI (NYSE:RLI) had its price objective upped by Compass Point from $158.00 to $175.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

RLI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $163.25.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI opened at $144.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.01. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $149.20.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $444.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $460.05 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RLI will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in RLI by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the 1st quarter valued at $375,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the 1st quarter valued at $200,000. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,816 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the 1st quarter valued at $468,000. 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.