Essex Property Trust: Q4 Earnings Snapshot

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

The San Mateo, California-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $265.1 million, or $3.98 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $4 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 $80.6 million, or $1.25 per share.

The real estate investment trust, based in San Mateo, California, posted revenue of $479.6 million in the period, which beat Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $476.6 million.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $1.06 billion. Revenue was reported as $1.89 billion.

For the current quarter ending in March, Essex Property Trust expects its per-share funds from operations to range from $3.89 to $4.01.

The company expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $15.69 to $16.19 per share.

_____

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