Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Argus

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) was upgraded by research analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TRV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.20.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TRV opened at $281.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Travelers Companies has a one year low of $230.43 and a one year high of $296.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $285.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.11. The stock has a market cap of $62.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.52.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Travelers Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Daniel S. Frey sold 25,000 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.25, for a total value of $6,956,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,493,829. The trade was a 48.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total transaction of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,435 shares of company stock valued at $15,366,736 over the last quarter. 1.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,047,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,898,456,000 after purchasing an additional 313,449 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,746,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,162,917,000 after purchasing an additional 119,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,541,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,805,000 after buying an additional 54,363 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Travelers Companies by 71,265.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,616,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $967,646,000 after buying an additional 3,611,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the second quarter worth $815,013,000. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Company Profile

The Travelers Companies, Inc (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers’ compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.