UPDATE 2-Allstate posts quarterly profit, misses Street

* Q3 EPS 41 cents vs loss $1.70 year ago

* Q3 oper EPS 99 cents, 2 cents shy of analysts' forecast

* Improvement on lower catastrophe, investment losses (Adds financial details, CEO comments, byline, updates shares)

By Lilla Zuill

NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Allstate Corp (ALL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest publicly traded U.S. home and auto insurer, swung to a profit on Wednesday from a large year ago loss, helped by stronger revenue, and fewer catastrophe claims.

A year ago, hurricanes Gustav and Ike were largely responsible for $1.82 billion in catastrophe losses, leaving a gaping hole in Allstate's results. Investment losses from the rapid erosion in credit markets added to its wounds.

Third quarter net income was $221 million compared with a net loss of $923 million in the year-ago quarter.

"It feels a lot different than a year ago," Chief Executive Tom Wilson said in an interview. "We are back on course and I feel really good about where the company is heading."

Allstate's total revenue rose 3.6 percent in the quarter to $7.6 billion, something Wilson attributed partly to improvement in customer retention.