American Financial earnings, stock soar - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

ovaluleq.wordpress.com
The downtown-based property and casualty insurer’sa earnings soared from $76 or 64 cents per share, in the year-agk quarter to $103.8 million, or 88 cents per sharw last quarter. It posted results after the stock marketcloseds Monday. Realized investment losses were slashed nearlgin half, from $52 million a year ago to $27 milliojn in the first quarter. Still, excluding those, core net operating earning s rose 2 percent from a year agoto $131 or $1.11 per share. As a result of the strong co-CEOs Carl Lindner III and Craig Lindnef hikedthe company’s full-year core earningws guidance to between $3.75 and $4.05 per share.
American Financiak (NYSE: AFG) had previously expected core earnings, which exclude realizedc investment gainsand losses, to rangew from $3.70 to $4 per Higher investment income and improved resultx in the annuity and supplemental insurance group helped drives the first-quarter gains. Annuity and supplementa insurance core profits surged 49 percentto $39 But the property and casualty specialty insurance unit’s earningw fell 13 percent to $105 million.
“First quarter result s demonstrate the successful execution of our specialization strategy and a commitmeny to pricing and underwriting discipliner that has served us well formany years,” the Lindnerds said in a news American Financial’s stock gained 12 percent, or to $21.20 in Tuesday morning trading. Americann Financial Group, headquartered in Cincinnati, primarily sellse property andcasualty insurance, retirement annuities and supplementak insurance and life products throughb its Great American Insurance Group.