May 1, 2025
Top 10 Stock RLI Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: RLI – Top 10 Stock in S&P Mid-Cap Index
RLI is listed as a top 10 stock on May 01, 2025 in the market index S&P MIDCAP because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Two consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. The company is safely financed and the professional investor sentiment is positive. Both are encouraging signals for a stock purchase decision, albeit at an above-average share price. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 63 (high 63% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for RLI on May 01, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Property & Casualty Insurance |
| Index | S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View RLI Buy
| 360 METRICS | May 1, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 11 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 19 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 98 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 72 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 63 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 63 (better than 63% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock RLI are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half below and half above average for RLI. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 72, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 72% of alternative investment opportunities. It also rates well regarding its financing structure, with the consolidated Safety Rank at 98 or better than 98% of its peers when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. But the stock is expensive and expects low growth. The consolidated Value Rank is only 11, meaning that the share price of RLI is on the high side, compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth,and stock returns, with its Growth Rank at 19. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 63, RLI is better positioned than 63% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only half of the consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, namely the positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 72) and safe financing practices (Safety Rank of 98), the case for investing in this stock needs further thought. The Value and the Safety Ranks are below average. The Safety Rank is the least critical of the four consolidated ranks, because it only reflects financing practices. So the question is: How to assess below-average value against above-average sentiment? This may be a case where growth is in the future, not yet reflected in current performance. Companies that might fall into this category are those with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In early phases, they are expensive relative to their size and have a lot of capital on their books, as is the case here. Investors expect a better future and are willing to pay a higher price than is warranted by the current company size. These higher prices drive stock price value down in the short term. In this case, future growth may be the strongest driver of the investment case, reflected by institutional investors' opinions. With a weak Value Rank, the question is how much to sacrifice value at the cost of positive sentiment. Sometimes market sentiment is just hype, but sometimes it is right. You pay more than market-average for this stock, but it may be worth it, if the future of RLỊ is bright. Prudent investors may only want to invest a smaller portion of their wealth in such situations. Young investors can carry more risk but should still thrive for sufficient diversification. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for RLI positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock RLI is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for RLI. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 35 (worse than 65% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. Worse, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 39, which means that stock research experts are getting even more pessimistic. Other sentiment indicators are positive: The Professional Investors rank is 77, which means that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 77% of alternative investment opportunities. So, pros tend to favor investing in this company. In addition, Market Pulse has a rank of 73, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be positive when discussing this company (more positive news than for 73% of competitors). While stock research analysts are getting ever more critical, many professional investors are committed to RLI and the professional news channels are on the positive side. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 72 (more positive than 72% compared with investment alternatives), RLI has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. This is an ambiguous picture: analysts are negative and getting even more critical, while the news in the market is positive. Who should investors believe? This is a difficult question in such a situation. Investors should proceed cautiously and verify not only the financial performance in the Obermatt Value, Growth and Safety Ranks but also independent news coverage of the company. ...read more
Value Strategy: RLI Stock Price Value low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% compared with alternatives), RLI shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for RLI. Price-to-Sales is 11 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 89% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning RLI's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 16, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of RLI. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 17 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 72% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 11, is a sell recommendation based on RLI's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for RLI? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as RLI? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. RLI may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. ...read more
Growth Strategy: RLI Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 19 (better than 19% compared with alternatives), RLI shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for RLI. While Profit Growth has a good rank of 53, as professionals currently expect the company to grow its profits more than 53% of its competitors, all other growth indicators are below market averages. Sales Growth has a rank of 24, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 76% of its competitors, while Capital Growth has a rank of 47 and Stock Returns have been below market median, with a rank of 37 (63% of alternative investments were better). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 19, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. While revenue growth and capital growth are good growth momentum indicators, profit is less reliable, because profits may increase due to cost-cutting measures which typically indicate negative growth momentum. "You can save a dollar only once" is the saying about such situations. Growth Investors should look at company priorities closely if they are interested in growth, because the increase in profits is not usually an indicator of growth, and stock prices have been below market, too. ...read more
Safety Strategy: RLI Debt Financing Safety very solid
| SAFETY METRICS | May 1, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 90 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 26 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 94 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company RLI has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of RLI is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for RLI. Leverage is at a rank of 90, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 90% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 94, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 94% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 26, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 74% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives), RLI has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for RLI. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: RLI Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | May 1, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 11 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 19 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 94 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 98 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 98 (better than 98% compared with investment alternatives), RLI (Property & Casualty Insurance, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of RLI are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 11 (worse than 89% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 19) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 98), which means low debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 98, is a strong buy recommendation based on RLI's financial characteristics. As the company RLI's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 11) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 19), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 98) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
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