AvalonBay reports 4Q results

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) _ AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its fourth quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Arlington, Virginia, said it had funds from operations of $291.1 million, or $2.12 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $2.10 per share.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization.

The company said it had net income of $242.2 million, or $1.76 per share.

The apartment building owner posted revenue of $518.2 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $516.2 million.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $1.13 billion, or $8.19 per share. Revenue was reported as $2.05 billion.

AvalonBay expects full-year funds from operations to be $8.44 to $8.84 per share.

The company's shares have fallen slightly more than 4 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen almost 2 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $169.61, a drop of slightly more than 1 percent 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 AVB at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AVB

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Keywords: AvalonBay Communities, Earnings Report