Port Capital LLC Buys Shares of 1,345,839 RLI Corp. $RLI

Port Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,345,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $79,499,000. RLI comprises 3.2% of Port Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in RLI by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 607,176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,847,000 after buying an additional 48,563 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of RLI by 33.1% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,579,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,161,000 after purchasing an additional 641,769 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new position in RLI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $604,542,000 after buying an additional 310,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 586,402 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,518,000 after buying an additional 91,073 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of RLI opened at $64.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.38. RLI Corp. has a twelve month low of $47.26 and a twelve month high of $68.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.12.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $575.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.70 million. RLI had a net margin of 22.22% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut RLI from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded RLI from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised RLI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $74.00 price objective on RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $63.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other RLI news, Director Clark C. Kellogg acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.90 per share, for a total transaction of $152,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,502 shares in the company, valued at $229,151.80. This represents a 199.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.