Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $4.08 Million Investment in RLI Corp. $RLI

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 71,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,078,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RLI. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of RLI by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in RLI by 156.4% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in RLI by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 684 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in RLI in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:RLI opened at $64.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.38. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $47.26 and a 12-month high of $69.19.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.11. RLI had a return on equity of 17.61% and a net margin of 22.22%.The company had revenue of $575.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 15.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RLI shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut RLI from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLI from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

Insider Activity at RLI

In related news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.00 per share, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 148,990 shares in the company, valued at $7,747,480. The trade was a 3.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.99 per share, with a total value of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,462.20. This represents a 34.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955 over the last ninety days. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

RLI 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.