BUZZ-Top of the Street: Swiss Re, UK P&C Insurance
A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts:
INITIATIONS AND REINSTATEMENTS
** Morgan Stanley initiates Swiss Re with "equal-weight" as it does not expect the valuation gap to peers to narrow as volatility continues, but the dividend is attractive and safe
** UK Property & Casualty Insurance: Credit Suisse initiates the sector with a cautious outlook, pointing to a differentiated view on personal motor pricing
** CS starts Direct Line with "outperform"; says company's shift to modern admin and pricing systems help to counter near-term pricing pressure and declining reserve releases
** RSA Insurance: CS initiates with "outperform"; sees catalysts driven by portfolio exits while also benefiting from a hardening market in Canada and commercial lines more generally
** CS starts Admiral with "underperform", expecting a deterioration in underwriting profitability and a slowdown in customer growth
(*Analyst rankings from Thomson Reuters StarMine. Scale is from 1-star to 5-star with 5 being best. Analysts ranked on earnings accuracy as well as relative performance of recommendations over trailing 12-month & 24-month periods.)