Brean Capital Initiates Coverage on Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV)

Equities research analysts at Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on TRV. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $309.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Travelers Companies from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Travelers Companies from $307.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Travelers Companies from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Travelers Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.33.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TRV traded up $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $302.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,432,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,291. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $291.44 and a 200 day moving average of $283.92. The stock has a market cap of $65.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.49. Travelers Companies has a 52-week low of $230.43 and a 52-week high of $313.12. 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 (NYSE:TRV) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.13 billion. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.70%. Travelers Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Travelers Companies will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey P. Klenk sold 16,712 shares of Travelers Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.77, for a total value of $4,675,516.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,075 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,602.75. The trade was a 73.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 55,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,718,956.30. The trade was a 17.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,845 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,631. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Travelers Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $330,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC acquired a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter worth $363,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,000,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Travelers Companies by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 865,178 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $251,117,000 after purchasing an additional 73,650 shares in the last quarter. 82.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Travelers Companies

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.