Argus Upgrades Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) to “Strong-Buy”

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $302.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Travelers Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.80.

Travelers Companies Price Performance

NYSE TRV opened at $281.23 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $230.43 and a 12-month high of $296.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $285.02 and its 200-day moving average is $276.30. The company has a market capitalization of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 21st that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Travelers Companies

In other news, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.50, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 255,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,337,225. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,435 shares of company stock valued at $15,366,736. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Trending Headlines about Travelers Companies

Here are the key news stories impacting Travelers Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results, dividend and big buyback support valuation — TRV reported an upside EPS beat and revenue above expectations for the latest quarter, declared a $1.10 quarterly dividend, and the board authorized a $5.0 billion share buyback (about 8.3% of shares). Those actions improve capital return visibility and support the stock. MarketBeat TRV Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst price-target increases — Several shops have lifted price targets recently (including a move to $320). Higher targets can help underpin upside expectations even where ratings vary. Price Target Raise to $320
• Positive Sentiment: Independent upgrade to “strong-buy” from Argus — Another analyst upgrade adds a buy-side voice supporting TRV shares. Argus Upgrade (via Zacks/TickerReport)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst views remain — Citigroup raised its price target to $315 but retained a “sell” rating, and other firms show a range of ratings from strong-buy to hold. That mixed research flow keeps sentiment and trading direction uncertain. Benzinga Analyst Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Travel demand data are healthy but indirect for insurers — industry reports (Flywire on luxury travel spending and American Airlines’ record revenue) point to robust travel activity, which can raise premium opportunities for travel-related insurance lines but is a second-order effect for Travelers’ broad P&C business. Flywire Report American Airlines Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by an EVP — Jeffrey Klenk sold 16,712 shares (~$4.68M) and materially reduced his holding; while single insider sales can be benign, large reductions by senior executives often spur short-term selling and investor scrutiny. InsiderTrades: Form 4 / SEC Filing

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.