Sciencast Management LP Invests $270,000 in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in RLI by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in RLI by 76.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in RLI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of RLI by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RLI Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $76.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.35. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.53 and a 12-month high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced 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 net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.63%. As a group, analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RLI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Compass Point cut their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

Insider Transactions at RLI

In other RLI news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Restrepo, Jr. sold 2,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.89, for a total value of $214,484.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,745,835.68. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last quarter. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

RLI Profile

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.