William Blair Issues Positive Forecast for RLI Earnings

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) – William Blair boosted their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of RLI in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, January 24th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now forecasts that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.03 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.02. The consensus estimate for RLI’s current full-year earnings is $3.13 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for RLI’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.83 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $3.25 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on RLI. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of RLI from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on RLI in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on RLI from $88.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on RLI from $100.50 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, RLI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.80.

RLI Stock Up 0.3 %

RLI stock opened at $72.92 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.93. The stock has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.47. RLI has a twelve month low of $67.04 and a twelve month high of $91.14.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 16.38%.

RLI Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $2.145 per share. This represents a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. RLI’s payout ratio is presently 15.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RLI

In other RLI news, Director Michael E. Angelina bought 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.62 per share, for a total transaction of $159,764.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,707,586.68. This represents a 10.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Craig W. Kliethermes acquired 5,000 shares of RLI stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.35 per share, for a total transaction of $356,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,931,206.50. The trade was a 3.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 9,200 shares of company stock worth $660,774 in the last quarter. 4.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of RLI

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLI. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in RLI by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RLI during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of RLI in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in RLI by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in RLI by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 77.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.