RLI (NYSE:RLI) Shares to Split on Thursday, January 16th

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) are going to split before the market opens on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI Stock Performance

RLI stock opened at $156.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 0.47. RLI has a 1 year low of $132.30 and a 1 year high of $182.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.53.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $470.00 million during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that RLI will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 214,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RLI

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