Insurer Anthem tops 2Q expectations, raises 2017 forecast

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Anthem trumped Wall Street's second-quarter earnings expectations as its profit grew nearly 10 percent, and the nation's second-largest health insurer raised its forecast for 2017.

The Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer said Wednesday that it now expects earning adjusted for one-time items to be greater than $11.70 per share this year, after forecasting greater than $11.60 per share in April.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect full-year earnings of $11.78 per share.

In the second quarter, Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc.'s net income grew to $855.3 million from $780.6 million a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings totaled $3.37 per share, and operating revenue, excluding investment gains, climbed 4.3 percent to $22.2 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted earnings of $3.25 per share on $22.28 billion in revenue.

Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ANTM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ANTM

Keywords: Anthem, Earnings Report