Travelers stock surges after double upgrade, as Raymond James swings from meh to bullish

Shares of Travelers Companies Inc. rallied 1.8% in afternoon trading Monday, after Raymond James analyst C. Gregory Peters swung to bullish on the insurer via a double upgrade. Peters boosted his rating to strong buy from market perform, skipping the broker's outperform rating in the process. He set his stock price target at $185, which implies further upside of about 16%. Peters expects Travelers' outperformance to continue as its Business Insurance segment's renewal pricing has trended above loss costs, as it is expected to implement auto and homeowners' insurance rate increases over the next year and attractive valuation. The stock has gained 1.8% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has declined 6.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 17.0%.

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