Jordan W. Graham Sells 1,500 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Director Jordan W. Graham sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $112,155.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,093.58. This represents a 10.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

RLI Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $75.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.34. RLI Corp. has a 52-week low of $67.53 and a 52-week high of $91.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.39.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of RLI in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in RLI by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Compass Point lowered their price target on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.80.

About RLI

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.