RLI (NYSE:RLI) Price Target Raised to $70.00

RLI (NYSE:RLI) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.50.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI stock opened at $60.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.69. RLI has a 1 year low of $47.26 and a 1 year high of $71.17. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.10. RLI had a net margin of 20.81% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The firm had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that RLI will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David B. Duclos acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $51.99 per share, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,462.20. This represents a 34.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.72 per share, with a total value of $105,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 104,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,644.96. This represents a 1.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 16,500 shares of company stock worth $858,955 over the last 90 days. 2.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of RLI by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,448,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $604,542,000 after purchasing an additional 310,857 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of RLI by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,875,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $567,823,000 after purchasing an additional 124,687 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of RLI by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,631,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $214,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,318 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of RLI by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,191,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,260,000 after purchasing an additional 67,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in RLI by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,920,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $109,567,000 after buying an additional 21,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

RLI Company Profile

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.