RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Short Interest Up 28.7% in February

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the February 13th total of 1,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 476,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

RLI Stock Down 0.8 %

RLI stock opened at $76.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 0.39. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $67.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued 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 16.63% and a net margin of 19.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that RLI will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on RLI. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In related news, Director Michael E. Angelina purchased 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.62 per share, for a total transaction of $159,764.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,707,586.68. This represents a 10.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Fick acquired 2,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 $10,246,859.93. The trade was a 1.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in RLI during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in RLI by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in RLI by 76.9% in the third 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. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of RLI during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of RLI by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.