BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ ProAssurance Corp. (PRA) on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of $7.7 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company said it had net income of 14 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for investment gains, were 4 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 2 cents per share.

The medical professional liability insurer posted revenue of $220 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $204.4 million, which also beat Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $203.5 million.

ProAssurance shares have risen 46% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $25.95, a rise of 31% 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 PRA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PRA