Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 13,247 RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank acquired a new position in RLI during the second quarter worth about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of RLI by 45.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of RLI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new stake in RLI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in RLI by 468.5% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RLI Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:RLI opened at $153.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.57. RLI Corp. has a 12-month low of $125.77 and a 12-month high of $155.59.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $416.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.60 million. RLI had a net margin of 20.78% and a return on equity of 18.33%. RLI’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that RLI Corp. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RLI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. RLI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RLI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point cut their price target on RLI from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of RLI from $170.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of RLI from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.25.

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.