RLI (NYSE:RLI) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $177.81 and last traded at $177.79, with a volume of 15004 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $176.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RLI shares. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.40.

RLI Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $161.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.41.

Shares of RLI are scheduled to split on Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.29 per share. This is an increase from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. RLI’s payout ratio is 12.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 58,167 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in RLI by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 931,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $131,045,000 after acquiring an additional 24,125 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in RLI by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $140,817,000 after acquiring an additional 50,654 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of RLI by 0.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 813,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $126,110,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC raised its position in shares of RLI by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 759,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $117,783,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.