Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Toronto-Dominion Bank surpassed Royal Bank of Canada today as the largest Canadian company by market value after the lender posted third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates.

Toronto-Dominion’s market value rose to C$71 billion ($72.8 billion) at 12:35 p.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange, to Royal Bank’s C$70.8 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Royal Bank regained the top position a few minutes later.

Toronto-Dominion, Canada’s second-largest bank by assets, today reported a 23 percent increase in profit and raised its dividend for the second time in three quarters. Royal Bank, the largest bank by assets, reported a net loss of C$92 million on Aug. 26 because of a write-off on its U.S. consumer bank.

“TD is demonstrating its superiority as a dominant franchise,” said Bob Decker, a money manager at Aurion Capital Management in Toronto who oversees about C$5.5 billion. “This fact is not lost on investors who are finally fed up with the chronic underperformance of Royal Bank.”

Royal Bank hasn’t ended a day with a market value less than another Canadian company since February 2009, when Barrick Gold Corp. was the most-highly valued stock. Toronto-Dominion last had a higher market value than Royal Bank in October 2000.

Last month, Royal Bank shares reached the lowest level in two years on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

--With assistance from Doug Alexander in Toronto. Editor: David Scanlan

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net; David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net.