Aetna Puts Up Strong 3Q Numbers

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Aetna Inc. (AET) on Tuesday reported third-quarter net income of $1 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said it had profit of $3.03. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $2.96 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.84 per share.

The health insurer posted revenue of $15.48 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $15.51 billion, which also topped Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $15.24 billion.

Aetna shares have increased 8 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has dropped 1 percent. The stock has increased 13 percent in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AET at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AET