StockNews.com Upgrades Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) to “Buy”

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on TRV. TD Cowen cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $252.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Travelers Companies from $245.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $207.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $244.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Travelers Companies from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.90.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

Shares of TRV opened at $250.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.16. Travelers Companies has a 52-week low of $165.84 and a 52-week high of $269.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $5.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $1.45. The firm had revenue of $11.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.46 billion. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 10.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 18.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.46, for a total transaction of $1,145,639.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,976 shares in the company, valued at $4,302,736.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andy F. Bessette sold 4,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.46, for a total value of $1,145,639.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,302,736.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Frederick Klein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.17, for a total transaction of $2,561,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,798 shares in the company, valued at $5,840,163.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,999 shares of company stock worth $16,580,166 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Travelers Companies by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,743,236 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,702,588,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158,979 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,044,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $619,241,000 after purchasing an additional 165,708 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,334,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $474,774,000 after buying an additional 37,029 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 16.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,388,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $319,348,000 after buying an additional 196,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 8.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,150,213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $233,769,000 after buying an additional 85,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.