Essex Property Trust: 1Q Earnings Snapshot

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) _ Essex Property Trust Inc. (ESS) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in San Mateo, California, said it had funds from operations of $220 million, or $3.23 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $3.19 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 $118.9 million, or $1.81 per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $356.2 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $353.5 million.

Essex Property Trust expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $12.90 to $13.25 per share.

The company's shares have climbed 14 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 17 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $278.50, an increase of 17 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 ESS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ESS