Essex Property Trust: 4Q Earnings Snapshot

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

The real estate investment trust, based in San Mateo, California, said it had funds from operations of $203.8 million, or $3.02 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $3.12 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 $95.7 million, or $1.47 per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $362.1 million in the period, which also missed Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $366 million.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $868.5 million, or $12.82 per share. Revenue was reported as $1.5 billion.

Essex Property Trust expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $11.86 to $12.46 per share.

The company's shares have risen nearly 7% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 3%. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $253, a decline of 19% 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