RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Short Interest Update

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, a growth of 28.7% from the February 13th total of 1,150,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 476,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $76.68. 124,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 323,042. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.58 and a 200 day moving average of $79.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. RLI has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $91.15. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.39.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. Research analysts anticipate that RLI will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RLI shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total transaction of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,835.68. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in RLI in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in RLI by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in RLI by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in RLI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in RLI by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.