RLI (NYSE:RLI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.64 EPS

RLI (NYSE:RLI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.64), Zacks reports. RLI had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 19.53%.

RLI Trading Down 7.9 %

RLI opened at $71.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.80. RLI has a 12-month low of $67.04 and a 12-month high of $91.14.

RLI Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on RLI. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of RLI from $81.00 to $82.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of RLI from $85.00 to $92.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer began coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of RLI from $82.50 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.20.

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.