Aetna tops 1Q earnings expectations, misses revenue forecasts

Aetna Inc. (AET) on Tuesday reported first-quarter net income of $777.5 million.

On a per-share basis, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said it had profit of $2.20. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and non-recurring costs, came to $2.39 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.95 per share.

The health insurer posted revenue of $15.09 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $15.45 billion.

Aetna expects full-year earnings in the range of $7.20 to $7.40 per share.

Aetna shares have climbed 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen slightly more than 2 percent. The stock has risen 50 percent in the last 12 months.

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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 http://www.zacks.com/ap/AET

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Keywords: Aetna, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings