RLI (NYSE:RLI) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $67.28 and last traded at $67.0360, with a volume of 518,650 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $69.00) on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $74.00 price objective on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price objective on shares of RLI and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLI has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $62.40.

RLI Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.88.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $476.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $533.51 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.34% and a return on equity of 18.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 2.90 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLI during the second quarter valued at about $492,175,000. Port Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,499,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in RLI by 40.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in RLI during the second quarter worth approximately $46,855,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in RLI by 311.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 688,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,262,000 after buying an additional 521,096 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About RLI

RLI Corp. (NYSE: RLI) is a specialty insurance company that underwrites property and casualty insurance products for commercial and personal customers. The company focuses on specialized risks that may not be adequately served by standard insurance carriers.

RLI’s offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, professional liability insurance, surety bonds, transportation-related insurance, and personal lines such as homeowners and personal umbrella coverage. Its products are distributed through independent agents, brokers, and other insurance intermediaries.

Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, RLI serves customers primarily throughout the United States.