Brokerages Set RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) PT at $163.25

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $165.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on RLI from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on RLI from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on RLI from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on RLI from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $141.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $143.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.39. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.41. RLI has a 1-year low of $125.77 and a 1-year high of $149.20.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. RLI had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 20.96%. The company had revenue of $444.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $460.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that RLI will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 16.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLI. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of RLI by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,419 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in RLI by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 17,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,400,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in RLI by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 25,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,832,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.