Essex Property Trust: Q4 Earnings Snapshot

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

The real estate investment trust, based in San Mateo, California, said it had funds from operations of $252.4 million, or $3.77 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $3.74 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 $185.2 million, or $2.86 per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $415.2 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $411.6 million.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $977.9 million, or $14.51 per share. Revenue was reported as $1.61 billion.

For the current quarter ending in March, Essex Property Trust expects its per-share funds from operations to range from $3.51 to $3.63.

The company expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $14.53 to $14.97 per share.

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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