Travelers: Financial Winners & Losers

(Updated with stock price moves.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Travelers Cos. (TRV) was among the winners of the financial sector Tuesday after the insurer reported a 60% jump in fourth-quarter earnings on a rebound in its investment portfolio.

Travelers reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit of $2.12 a share, much better than the Thomson Reuters average estimate of $1.49 a share, thanks to high retention rates and investment gains. Travelers said it had $6.5 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, an increase of 11% from a year earlier.

Travelers, a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was lately up $1.70, or 3.5%, to $50.59.

MGIC Investment (MTG) was another insurer on the rise Tuesday. The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.25 a share, which was narrower than the Thomson Reuters average estimate for a loss of $3.35 a share in the quarter. Revenue of $405.5 million was down from a year ago but better than the $393.8 million consensus. MGIC shares were surging 13.4% to $6.87.

Among other mortgage-insurance stocks, Radian Group (RDN) gained 9.4% to $7.33, and The PMI Group (PMI) rallied 8.3% to $2.36.

American Express (AXP) was also trading higher after Ladenburg Thalmann upgraded the stock to neutral from sell and set a price target of $40. The firm said American Express is in a solid position for a rebound in growth and credit. American Express shares were up 3% to $38.93.

Other credit-card issuers were trading mixed. Discover Financial (DFS) tacked on 1.3% to $13.65, while Capital One Financial (COF) dipped 0.3% to $35.99.