Insider Buying: RLI (NYSE:RLI) CEO Buys $104,000.00 in Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) CEO Craig Kliethermes bought 2,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.00 per share, with a total value of $104,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 150,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,851,480. The trade was a 1.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

RLI Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE RLI opened at $50.03 on Friday. RLI Corp. has a 12 month low of $47.26 and a 12 month high of $77.24. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.32.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.10. RLI had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 20.81%.The business had revenue of $423.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. RLI’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of RLI by 115.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 56,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,529,000 after purchasing an additional 30,170 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 110.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 185,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,902,000 after purchasing an additional 97,501 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of RLI by 472.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 24,079 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of RLI by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of RLI by 16,550.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 23,832 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RLI shares. Zacks Research upgraded RLI from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on RLI from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered RLI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.50.

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.