Analysts Set RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Price Target at $63.00

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on RLI. Wall Street Zen raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group set a $74.00 price objective on RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered RLI from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLI from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David B. Duclos bought 2,500 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $51.99 per share, with a total value of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $508,462.20. This trade represents a 34.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.72 per share, with a total value of $105,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 104,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,644.96. This represents a 1.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 9,500 shares of company stock valued at $492,115. 2.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of RLI by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $604,542,000 after buying an additional 310,857 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of RLI by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,875,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $567,823,000 after buying an additional 124,687 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $492,175,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in RLI by 5,642.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,759,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $340,210,000 after acquiring an additional 5,659,146 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in RLI by 40.7% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,631,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $214,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,318 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

RLI Stock Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $66.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.38. RLI has a one year low of $47.26 and a one year high of $68.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.07.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $575.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.70 million. RLI had a net margin of 22.22% and a return on equity of 17.61%. RLI’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that RLI will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.13%.

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.