SG Americas Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in RLI Corp. $RLI

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) by 1,030.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,000 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in RLI were worth $2,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in RLI by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,138,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $595,985,000 after buying an additional 148,019 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of RLI by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,750,315 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $570,696,000 after acquiring an additional 279,983 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of RLI by 15.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,422,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,782,000 after acquiring an additional 191,020 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of RLI by 14.6% in the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,229,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,198,000 after acquiring an additional 156,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in RLI in the second quarter valued at about $84,608,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RLI shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded RLI from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded RLI from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial set a $58.00 price target on shares of RLI in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of RLI from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $59.00 price target on shares of RLI and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other RLI news, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $287,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 143,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,225.50. This trade represents a 3.60% 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, COO Jennifer L. Klobnak purchased 2,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $57.99 per share, for a total transaction of $115,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 100,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,817,440.82. The trade was a 2.03% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

RLI Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of RLI stock opened at $58.19 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.67. RLI Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $55.80 and a fifty-two week high of $81.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 0.52.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.18. RLI had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 21.43%.The company had revenue of $465.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that RLI Corp. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

RLI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. RLI’s payout ratio is currently 14.68%.

RLI Profile

RLI Corporation (NYSE:RLI) is a specialty property and casualty insurance company focused on underwriting niche risks for businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the company operates through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering customized coverage solutions. RLI’s approach emphasizes disciplined underwriting, targeted product development and strong customer service to maintain profitability and long-term growth.

Founded in 1965 as Replacement Lens, Inc, RLI initially provided insurance for contact lens manufacturers before shifting its focus to specialty insurance in the 1980s.