RLI (NYSE:RLI) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $156.53 and traded as high as $160.59. RLI shares last traded at $156.32, with a volume of 239,047 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RLI shares. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.40.

RLI Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.12 and a 200-day moving average of $156.61. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.47.

RLI’s stock is scheduled to split on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $4.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other RLI news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total value of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 214,811 shares in the company, valued at $36,421,205.05. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of RLI by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,393,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $680,866,000 after purchasing an additional 58,167 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in RLI by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 931,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $131,045,000 after acquiring an additional 24,125 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of RLI by 5.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,817,000 after acquiring an additional 50,654 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 0.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 813,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $126,110,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Finally, Port Capital LLC grew its position in shares of RLI by 0.4% in the third quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 759,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,783,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.