Insider Buying: RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) CEO Purchases $356,750.00 in Stock

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

RLI Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of RLI stock opened at $72.27 on Thursday. RLI Corp. has a 52 week low of $67.04 and a 52 week high of $91.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.95. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 0.47.

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

RLI Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $2.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RLI. Nepsis Inc. increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. Nepsis Inc. now owns 296,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,876,000 after purchasing an additional 172,370 shares during the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in RLI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,931,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,458,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of RLI by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,393,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $680,866,000 after acquiring an additional 58,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer started coverage on RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

RLI Company Profile

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.