11:36 AM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Travelers' (TRV) Q3 operating EPS beat was mainly due to the company's improved underwriting profitability, particularly in its Personal lines segment, Morgan Stanley said in a note Friday.

The brokerage highlighted that previous concerns linked to reserve charges taken now seem more manageable.

The Q3 results "indicated that the company was prudent last quarter in taking the charge, as the reserving issue appears to be very manageable this quarter," the note said.

"Further, the momentum in personal lines is taking off. Strong core loss ratio supported the overall profitability and more than offset the catastrophe losses," Morgan Stanley said.

Also, due to Travelers' "limited" exposure to Florida, the company's "management expects the Hurricane Milton impact to be ~$75 million to $175 million in 4Q24, which is very manageable in our view," the note said.

Morgan Stanley has an equal weight rating on Travelers and raised the price target to $255 from $235.

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