Wunderlich Has Buy Rating On HCC Insurance Holdings (HCC)

Wunderlich Securities has a Buy rating and a $34 price target on shares of HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. HCC.

In a note to clients, Wunderlich writes, "On March 11, 2011, an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit Japan causing substantial damage and loss of life. Insured losses from the event are estimated by AIR (a respected catastrophic modeling organization) in the range of $15-$35 billion. Total economic damages are likely to be significantly higher. The earthquake is the worst in Japan's history and ranks fifth in the world. There is a risk earthquakes may hit other cities. We estimate 2010 catastrophe losses were $37B. Year-to-date catastrophe losses excluding Japan could be $20B. We believe the Japanese catastrophe losses may result in the property/casualty insurance industry reaching a pricing inflection point with rates stabilizing and beginning to rise. In our view, investors should focus on the stocks of insurers that may benefit from pricing improvement but are likely to have limited exposure to the Japanese catastrophic losses, such as HCC Insurance Holdings (HCC-$30.51, Buy)."

Shares of HCC gained 26 cents on Friday to close at $30.51, a gain of 0.86%.