Analysts Set RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) PT at $63.20

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.20.

A number of research firms have weighed in on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered RLI from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of RLI from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI stock opened at $59.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.21. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.38. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $47.26 and a fifty-two week high of $67.12.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $575.57 million during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that RLI will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is 15.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of RLI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $492,175,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,051,318 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in RLI by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,260,000 after purchasing an additional 67,025 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 21,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maren Capital LLC grew its holdings in RLI by 1.6% in the second quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,817,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,352,000 after purchasing an additional 28,366 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About RLI

RLI Corp. is a specialty property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Through its subsidiaries, the company underwrites a broad range of insurance products for commercial and personal customers, with an emphasis on specialized risks that may not be fully addressed by standard insurance carriers.

RLI’s products include commercial property and casualty coverage, transportation and marine insurance, surety bonds, workers’ compensation, professional liability, and personal umbrella insurance.