RLI (NYSE:RLI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $67.28 and last traded at $67.0360, with a volume of 518,650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RLI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $53.00 price target on shares of RLI and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered RLI from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $69.00) on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $62.40.

RLI Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.99.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.32. RLI had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 20.34%. The company had revenue of $476.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $533.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 634,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,486,000 after purchasing an additional 117,876 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in RLI by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,579,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,161,000 after buying an additional 641,769 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in RLI in the second quarter valued at $23,323,000. Maren Capital LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 1.6% during the second quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,817,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $107,352,000 after buying an additional 28,366 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of RLI by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 100,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,721,000 after acquiring an additional 21,136 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Company Profile

RLI Corp. (NYSE: RLI) is a specialty insurance company that underwrites property and casualty insurance products for commercial and personal customers. The company focuses on specialized risks that may not be adequately served by standard insurance carriers.

RLI’s offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, professional liability insurance, surety bonds, transportation-related insurance, and personal lines such as homeowners and personal umbrella coverage. Its products are distributed through independent agents, brokers, and other insurance intermediaries.

Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, RLI serves customers primarily throughout the United States.