RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) CEO Buys $356,750.00 in Stock

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

RLI Price Performance

RLI stock opened at $72.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.95. RLI Corp. has a 1 year low of $67.04 and a 1 year high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that RLI Corp. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RLI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered RLI from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

Institutional Trading of RLI

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in RLI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in RLI during the third quarter worth $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in RLI by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of RLI by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 77.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.