Shares of Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) surged 5.31% in after-hours trading on Thursday, following the company's impressive third-quarter earnings report that exceeded analyst expectations. The property and casualty insurer demonstrated robust financial performance, marking a significant turnaround from the same period last year.

Universal Insurance reported quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, handily beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.10 by 23.64%. This represents a remarkable 286.3% increase from the loss of $0.73 per share reported in the same quarter last year. The company's revenue also impressed, coming in at $400.981 million, surpassing the analyst estimate of $366.357 million by 9.45% and showing a 3.46% year-over-year growth.

Several factors contributed to Universal Insurance's strong performance. The company saw a 3.2% increase in direct premiums written, driven by substantial 22.2% growth in states outside of Florida, which offset a 2.6% decrease in its home state. Additionally, the net loss ratio improved significantly, decreasing by 21.5 points due to the absence of hurricanes during the quarter. Higher net investment income, resulting from increased fixed income reinvestment yields and invested assets, also played a role in boosting the company's revenue. With an annualized return on average common equity of 33.4% and an adjusted return on common equity of 30.6%, Universal Insurance demonstrated its ability to generate strong returns for shareholders in the third quarter.