RLI (NYSE:RLI) Downgraded to “Underperform” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of RLI (NYSE:RLI) from a buy rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $61.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $95.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Compass Point increased their price target on RLI from $85.00 to $92.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RLI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.80.

RLI Trading Down 0.9 %

RLI opened at $72.27 on Monday. RLI has a 1-year low of $67.04 and a 1-year high of $91.14. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.95.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced 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 net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 16.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that RLI will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $33,910.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Fick acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.13 per share, with a total value of $144,260.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 142,061 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,859.93. The trade was a 1.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 9,200 shares of company stock worth $660,774 over the last three months. 5.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of RLI by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $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 valued at $32,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

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.