State Auto beats Street view on fourth-quarter profit

State Auto surpassed the fourth-quarter profit estimates of Wall
Street analysts by posting operating earnings of $0.46 a share even
as drag from its auto lines held back its overall performance.
The consensus among analysts called for $0.33 per share,
according to Arash Soleimani of Keefe Bruyette & Woods and
Larry Greenberg of Janney Montgomery Scott.
State Auto reported operating profit of $19.2mn for the fourth
quarter, up from $300,000 in the fourth quarter of 2015.
While its combined r