TechTarget (TTGT) (HLIT) (THG) (ICLR) (SUI) (IRF) Get New Coverage

TechTarget Inc (NASDAQ: TTGT), Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT), The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG), ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR), Sun Communities Inc (NYSE: SUI) and International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF) getting new analyst coverage.

Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on TechTarget Inc. (TTGT). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $8.00 on the company.

ThinkEquity initiated coverage on Harmonic (HLIT). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

Sterne Agee initiated coverage on The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (THG). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $44.00 on the company.

BB&T (NYSE:BBT) initiated coverage on ICON plc (ICLR). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

Ladenburg Thalmann initiated coverage on Sun Communities Inc. (SUI). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $43.00 on the company.

The Benchmark Company initiated coverage on International Rectifier (IRF). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $25.00 on the company.

Dividends on (JPM) (MGEE) (MNRO) (THG) (TTC) Declared

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), MGE ENERGY INC (NASDAQ:MGEE), Monro Muffler Brake Inc (NASDAQ:MNRO), The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) and Toro Co (NYSE:TTC) declare dividends.

The Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.25 per share payable 7/31/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 7/6/11.

The Board of Directors of MGE ENERGY INC (MGEE) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.3751 per share payable 6/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/1/11.

The Board of Directors of Monro Muffler Brake Inc (MNRO) declared a first quarter common stock dividend of $0.08 per share payable 6/17/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/7/11.

The Board of Directors of The Hanover Insurance Group (THG) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.275 per share payable 6/14/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/31/11.

The Board of Directors of Toro Co (TTC) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.20 per share payable 7/8/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/17/11.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Hanover (NYSE:THG), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL), Everest Re (NYSE:RE), ACE (NYSE:ACE), PartnerRe (NYSE:PRE)

The property-casualty insurance sector is expected to be under strong pressure in the fourth quarter of 2010, and insurers Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Hanover (NYSE:THG), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL), Everest Re (NYSE:RE), ACE (NYSE:ACE) and PartnerRe (NYSE:PRE) all had their EPS estimates lowered by Barclays.

Barclays said, "The fourth quarter 2010 earnings season is expected to be challenging for the property-casualty insurance sector. This is because P&C insurers are likely to suffer the first quarterly decline in linked-quarter book value since the 2008 financial crisis due to mark-to-market investment losses, and the outlook for 2011 is expected to be uninspiring. Also, 4Q10 EPS estimates appear too high in some cases due the risk of elevated catastrophe losses. In 2010, the Barclays Capital P&C Insurance Index modestly outperformed both the S&P 500 and S&P Financials. Currently, we recommend investors take profits in P&C insurance stocks (especially the insurance brokers) due to our outlook for challenged near-term results for P&C and concerns about a lack of pricing power."

"We are reducing our 4Q10 EPS estimates for Allstate, Hanover Insurance Group, Travelers due to our expectations of elevated U.S. storm losses, and we are lowering our 4Q EPS outlook for Arch Capital & Everest Re to reflect our concern that New Zealand earthquake loss estimates could rise beyond our existing catastrophe load."

"Within the P&C insurance sector, we prefer the shares of primary commercial P&C insurers and select diversified reinsurers over the personal lines P&C insurers and insurance brokers. Broadly, we favor the high-quality names with strong balance sheets, excess capital, and attractive valuations: TRV, ACE Ltd, ACGL, and PartnerRe ."

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) EPS Estimates Challenged by Midwest Storms

EPS estimates for the fourth quarter for The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) could be under pressure in light of the amount of damage from severe storms in the midwest.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) said, "We met with The Hanover Insurance Group's CEO Fred Eppinger. THG appears confident it can improve its ROE by leveraging its expense base, raising rates in personal lines, and deploying excess capital (roughly $250 mn), although it is unclear to us how long this could take to achieve.

"Catastrophe losses in 4Q10 could be above average fourth quarter catastrophe losses due in part to severe Midwest storms. As a result, we believe THG could face difficulty achieving its FY2010 EPS guidance of $2.85-$3.10 (implies 4Q10 EPS of $1.17-$1.42 vs our $1.01 estimate, which could be optimistic). Higher-than-average 4Q10 catastrophe losses is a negative lateral for Allstate (NYSE:ALL), and to a lesser extent Travelers (NYSE:TRV) & Chubb (NYSE:CB)."

Barclays maintains an "Equalweight" on The Hanover Insurance Group, which closed Wednesday at $47.41, down $0.18, or 0.38 percent. They have a price target of $46 on the company.