RLI (NYSE:RLI) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $177.81 and last traded at $177.79, with a volume of 15004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Compass Point upped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.40.

RLI Stock Up 1.1 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.41.

RLI’s stock is going to split on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $470.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.54 million. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in RLI by 0.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of RLI by 1.2% during the third quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 5,757 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in RLI by 45.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in RLI by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 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.