Virtus Advisers LLC Purchases New Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of RLI by 28.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in RLI by 94.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in RLI by 0.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 75,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,924,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on RLI. UBS Group set a $74.00 price target on RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of RLI in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of RLI from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of RLI from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

RLI Stock Performance

NYSE RLI opened at $65.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.97. RLI Corp. has a one year low of $47.26 and a one year high of $69.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.11. RLI had a net margin of 22.22% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $575.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. RLI’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. RLI’s payout ratio is 15.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In related news, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.72 per share, for a total transaction of $105,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 104,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,644.96. The trade was a 1.95% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Duclos acquired 2,500 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.99 per share, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,462.20. The trade was a 34.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 9,500 shares of company stock valued at $492,115 over the last quarter. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.