UPDATE 1-American Financial Q3 oper net tops Wall Street view

* Q3 EPS $0.18 vs $0.93 last year

* Q3 core oper EPS $0.98 vs estimate $0.95

* Reaffirms FY 2008 core EPS view $3.90-$4.10

* Sees FY 2009 core EPS $3.65-$3.85 Oct 27 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurance company American Financial Group Inc (AFG.N) reported a higher quarterly operating profit that topped Wall Street estimates, helped by its annuity and supplemental insurance business. [ID:nWNAB2556]

For the third quarter, the company reported net income of $20.9 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with $112.7 million, or 93 cents a share, a year ago.

Core net operating earnings were 98 cents a share, compared with 97 cents a share a year earlier.

For a company press release, please double-click [ID:nBw276350a]

Shares of the company closed down 3 percent at $19.59 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)