AvalonBay: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

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

The real estate investment trust, based in Arlington, Virginia, said it had funds from operations of $383.8 million, or $2.70 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $2.64 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 $173.4 million, or $1.22 per share.

The apartment building owner posted revenue of $712.9 million in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $706.6 million.

For the current quarter ending in June, AvalonBay expects its per-share funds from operations to range from $2.63 to $2.73.

The company expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $10.71 to $11.11 per share.

The company's shares have increased 2% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has climbed almost 6%. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $191.32, an increase of 11% 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