Travelers Companies Inc. Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (TRV)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A- . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Insurance industry. The net income increased by 237.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$364.00 million to $499.00 million.
• TRV's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.25 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 68.28% to $451.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. The firm also exceeded the industry average cash flow growth rate of 32.76%.

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals primarily in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 11.4, equal to the average insurance industry P/E ratioand below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Travelers Companies has a market cap of $24.48 billion and is part of the financial sector and insurance industry. Shares are up 7.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full Travelers Companies Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Travelers Companies Inc. click any of the following:

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• Travelers Companies Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Travelers Companies Inc. Growth Rates

• Travelers Companies Inc. Balance Sheet

• Travelers Companies Inc. Cash Flow

• Travelers Companies Inc. Income Statement