RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) to Issue None Dividend of $4.29

RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) announced a None dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 4.29 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, December 20th. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from RLI’s previous None dividend of $2.25.

RLI has increased its dividend by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 50 years. RLI has a payout ratio of 18.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect RLI to earn $6.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.5%.

RLI Price Performance

RLI traded up $5.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.09. 200,753 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,960. RLI has a 1 year low of $125.77 and a 1 year high of $173.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.41.

Shares of RLI are going to split on 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $470.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.54 million. RLI had a net margin of 23.77% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that RLI will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on RLI in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of RLI from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of RLI in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of RLI in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of RLI from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, RLI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.40.

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.