Short Interest in RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) Expands By 28.7%

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

RLI Price Performance

Shares of RLI stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.01. 288,882 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 501,873. RLI has a fifty-two week low of $67.53 and a fifty-two week high of $91.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.50 and a 200 day moving average of $79.38.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 EPS 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 16.63%. On average, analysts predict that RLI will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RLI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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 lowered their target price on RLI from $185.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RLI has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 139,190 shares in the company, valued at $9,931,206.50. This trade represents a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Fick purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.13 per share, for a total transaction of $144,260.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 142,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 acquired 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $805,774 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RLI

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV raised its stake in RLI by 16.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in RLI by 2.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in RLI in the third quarter valued at $203,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in RLI by 0.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 813,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $126,110,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in RLI by 39.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently 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.