RLI (NYSE:RLI) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $156.53 and traded as high as $160.59. RLI shares last traded at $156.32, with a volume of 239,047 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on RLI shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.40.

RLI Stock Down 3.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.19 and a 200-day moving average of $156.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 0.47.

RLI shares are set to split on the morning of Thursday, January 16th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, November 7th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, January 15th.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.33. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $470.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RLI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $4.29 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Insider Activity at RLI

In other RLI news, Director Michael J. Stone sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total value of $33,910.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 214,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,421,205.05. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RLI

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in RLI in the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of RLI by 117.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 4,634 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in RLI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $954,000. Bruce & Co. Inc. increased its position in RLI by 1,020.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce & Co. Inc. now owns 22,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 20,400 shares during the period. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in RLI during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,469,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.