RLI (NYSE:RLI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on RLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group set a $74.00 price objective on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLI from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

RLI Stock Up 0.1%

RLI opened at $61.27 on Friday. RLI has a 12-month low of $47.26 and a 12-month high of $69.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.21 and a 200-day moving average of $57.50.

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

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is 15.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.42 per share, with a total value of $106,840.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,465,827.56. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Duclos purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.99 per share, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $508,462.20. This represents a 34.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders bought 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $858,955. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLI. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in RLI during the second quarter worth $2,604,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,051,318 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in RLI by 37.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 38,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 4.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Securities CORP. raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 12.2% during the second quarter. Brighton Securities CORP. now owns 4,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.