Royce & Associates LP Increases Stake in RLI Corp. $RLI

Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 586,402 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 91,073 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in RLI were worth $37,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of RLI by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 26,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of RLI by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of RLI by 5.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in RLI by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in RLI by 0.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 75,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,924,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $53.42 per share, for a total transaction of $106,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 102,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,465,827.56. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

RLI Price Performance

NYSE:RLI opened at $52.56 on Tuesday. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $47.26 and a one year high of $77.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.42.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $423.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.47 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. RLI’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

RLI Company Profile

RLI Corporation (NYSE:RLI) is a specialty property and casualty insurance company focused on underwriting niche risks for businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the company operates through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering customized coverage solutions. RLI’s approach emphasizes disciplined underwriting, targeted product development and strong customer service to maintain profitability and long-term growth.

Founded in 1965 as Replacement Lens, Inc, RLI initially provided insurance for contact lens manufacturers before shifting its focus to specialty insurance in the 1980s.