Chubb Ltd. (NYSE:CB) announced third-quarter results that exceeded expectations on nearly all key metrics, citing stronger underwriting performance, lower catastrophe losses, and solid investment income.

Citizens JMP Securities analysts, led by Matthew J. Carletti, reaffirmed their Market Outperform rating on Chubb with a $325 price forecast, citing the company’s upbeat earnings performance.

Analysts said Chubb reported operating EPS of $7.49, well above both their estimate of $6.64 and the consensus of $6.15. The outperformance was driven by three main factors.

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Drivers of Strong Operating EPS

First, the underlying Property and Casualty (P&C) combined ratio was strong at 82%, beating the expected 85%. Second, catastrophe losses were lower than forecast at $285 million, compared with the $405 million estimated.

The third driver was more favorable prior-period reserve development of $361 million versus the expected ...