StockNews.com Downgrades RLI (NYSE:RLI) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on RLI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Compass Point dropped their price objective on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, RLI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock opened at $72.52 on Monday. RLI has a 1 year low of $67.04 and a 1 year high of $91.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.47.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released 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 net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.38%. Equities research analysts anticipate that RLI will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

RLI Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at RLI

In other RLI news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 429,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,421,205.05. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.35 per share, with a total value of $356,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,931,206.50. This represents a 3.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,200 shares of company stock worth $660,774. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in RLI by 620.0% during the third 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. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of RLI by 53.8% in 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 during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of RLI by 62.5% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by 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.