Shares of Travelers Companies Inc. jumped 2.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after the insurer reported a big profit beat, fueled by strong margins and returns from its investment portfolio. Net income rose to $1.33 billion, or $5.37 a share, from $1.31 billion, or $5.10 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, core earnings per share rose to $5.20 from $4.91, well above the FactSet consensus of $3.86. Total revenue grew 7% to $9.01 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $8.66 billion, as net written premiums increased 10% to $8.00 billion to top expectations of $7.88 billion. Net investment income climbed 9.7% to $743 million, helped by higher private equity and real estate partnership returns. The stock has gained 0.9% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 1.6%.
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