Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) Stock

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Barclays from $312.00 to $331.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.42% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $304.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Travelers Companies from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Argus upgraded Travelers Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Travelers Companies from $315.00 to $304.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.14.

Travelers Companies Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:TRV traded up $4.72 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $299.77. 486,880 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,417. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. Travelers Companies has a 12-month low of $230.47 and a 12-month high of $313.12. The firm has a market cap of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $297.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.79.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $11.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.34 by $2.79. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 12.88%.The business had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 21st that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.70, for a total value of $16,424,515.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,718,956.30. This represents a 17.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.75, for a total value of $3,127,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 117,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,366,997. The trade was a 8.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,109,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,413,207,000 after purchasing an additional 110,311 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,000,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,641,093,000 after purchasing an additional 486,861 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,793,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,100,416,000 after purchasing an additional 85,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,361,112 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $974,993,000 after purchasing an additional 81,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.