RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Receives $63.20 Average Price Target from Analysts

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.20.

Several brokerages have weighed in on RLI. UBS Group set a $74.00 price objective on RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE RLI opened at $58.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.38. RLI has a 52 week low of $47.26 and a 52 week high of $67.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.46 and a 200-day moving average of $58.12.

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

RLI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RLI in the second quarter worth about $492,175,000. Port Capital LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,499,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in RLI by 40.7% during the 2nd 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in RLI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,997,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in RLI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,855,000. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RLI Company Profile

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.