RLI (NYSE:RLI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI – Get Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $67.30 and last traded at $67.1670, with a volume of 257,805 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price objective on RLI and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $62.40.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on RLI

RLI Trading Up 3.4%

The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $60.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.69.

RLI (NYSE:RLI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $476.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $533.51 million. RLI had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 20.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $492,175,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 40.7% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,631,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,318 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 1.1% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 2,421,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $133,957,000 after acquiring an additional 27,378 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of RLI by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $109,567,000 after acquiring an additional 21,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maren Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,817,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,352,000 after acquiring an additional 28,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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