Jeffrey D. Fick Buys 2,000 Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) insider Jeffrey D. Fick purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.13 per share, for a total transaction of $144,260.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 142,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,246,859.93. This trade represents a 1.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

RLI Trading Up 0.3 %

RLI opened at $72.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.93. The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.47. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $67.04 and a 12-month high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.64). RLI had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 19.53%. On average, analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

RLI Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $2.145 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RLI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $2,542,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $840,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer started coverage on RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Compass Point decreased their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

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.