Wasatch Advisors LP Boosts Stake in RLI Corp. $RLI

Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,631,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,051,318 shares during the quarter. RLI accounts for approximately 1.4% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in RLI were worth $214,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of RLI by 94.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in RLI during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in RLI by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 684 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in RLI in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

RLI Stock Up 0.7%

RLI opened at $64.03 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.67. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.38. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $47.26 and a 52 week high of $69.19.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.11. RLI had a return on equity of 17.61% and a net margin of 22.22%.The business had revenue of $575.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other RLI news, Director David B. Duclos acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $508,462.20. The trade was a 34.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.72 per share, for a total transaction of $105,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 104,318 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,644.96. This represents a 1.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $858,955. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

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.