The Best and Worst Dow Stocks

26. The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52

Short Interest as of Apr 30, 2025: 1.42%

The Travelers Companies, Inc. is a personal and commercial property and casualty insurance services and products provider to associations, businesses, individuals, and government units. The company recently received back-to-back upgrades from analysts, making it a great start to the year.

The insurance company first earned an upgrade from Piper Sandler right after the solid Q4 earnings. Analysts noted that the stock was inexpensive and upgraded it from Neutral to Overweight with a raised price target of $310. Analysts Paul Newsome and Cam Bianchi favorably viewed its faster-than-expected recovery of personal lines profitability and sustainable margins in commercial lines.

Following the same optimistic sentiment, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also upgraded the insurer from Market Perform to Outperform. The firm pointed out a potential $1.39 billion overestimation of its 2024 loss reserves. Additionally, KBW increased its 2025 reserve release estimates from $315 million to $392 million, which raises its EPS estimates as well.

Based on a more positive outlook of its reserves, Wells Fargo recently upgraded the stock from Underweight to Equal Weight. Wells Fargo’s concerns regarding catastrophe losses were mitigated by the company’s outlook and reinsurance coverage.

Analyst Elyse Greenspan stated:

“We had a more favorable view when looking at both its GAAP and stat reserves resulting in our upgrade of the shares.”