ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in RLI Corp. $RLI

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 21.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 515,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,381 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $33,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in RLI by 115.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,529,000 after buying an additional 30,170 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of RLI by 110.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 185,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,902,000 after acquiring an additional 97,501 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of RLI by 472.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 24,079 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in RLI by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.99 per share, with a total value of $115,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 100,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,440.82. The trade was a 2.03% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $287,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 143,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,225.50. The trade was a 3.60% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 2.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

RLI Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $62.09 on Wednesday. RLI Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $55.80 and a fifty-two week high of $81.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $61.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.48.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $465.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.53 million. RLI had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 18.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RLI. Zacks Research lowered shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of RLI from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $59.00 target price on RLI and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on RLI from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.20.

About RLI

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.