Insider Buying: RLI (NYSE:RLI) CEO Buys 5,000 Shares of Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) CEO Craig Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.00 per share, with a total value of $260,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 148,990 shares in the company, valued at $7,747,480. The trade was a 3.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

RLI Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:RLI traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 545,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,417. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $47.26 and a 12 month high of $77.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.42.

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 company had revenue of $423.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research raised shares of RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLI. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of RLI by 115.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,529,000 after acquiring an additional 30,170 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of RLI by 110.8% during 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 increased 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 acquiring an additional 24,079 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of RLI by 46.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of RLI by 16,550.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 23,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 23,832 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.