Zurich Financial Services "overweight"

05/19/06 - J.P. Morgan Securities

LONDON, May 19 (newratings.com) - Analyst Michael Huttner of JP Morgan maintains his "overweight" rating on Zurich Financial Services (ZFIN), while raising his estimates for the company. The target price is set to CHF353.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company has posted its 1Q06 business operating profits ahead of the estimates, driven partly by a lower combined ratio. Zurich Financial Services' share price does not reflect the company's strategy to raise Farmers' retained earnings in order to allow the franchise to self-fund growth, the analyst adds. The EPS estimate for 2007 has been raised by 1.4%.