RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $163.25.

RLI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of RLI from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE:RLI opened at $145.88 on Friday. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $123.04 and a fifty-two week high of $149.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 0.37.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. RLI had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $444.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that RLI will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in RLI during the 1st quarter valued at about $515,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of RLI by 25.1% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in RLI by 237.7% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 207,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,864,000 after buying an additional 146,324 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in RLI by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 265,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,400,000 after buying an additional 33,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in RLI during the 1st quarter valued at $130,000. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About RLI

RLI Corp., an insurance holding company, underwrites property and casualty insurance. Its Casualty segment provides commercial and personal coverage products; and general liability products, such as coverage for third-party liability of commercial insureds, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile.