AvalonBay: Q4 Earnings Snapshot

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

The Arlington, Virginia-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $363.1 million, or $2.59 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $2.58 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 $241.3 million, or $1.72 per share.

The apartment building owner posted revenue of $669.7 million in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $670 million.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $1.37 billion, or $9.79 per share. Revenue was reported as $2.59 billion.

For the current quarter ending in March, AvalonBay expects its per-share funds from operations to range from $2.47 to $2.57. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted FFO per share of $2.66.

The company expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $10.06 to $10.56 per share.

The company's shares have climbed 12% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has increased 7%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $181.60, a drop of 24% 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