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

The Arlington, Virginia-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $398.7 million, or $2.83 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $2.80 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 $325.7 million, or $2.33 per share.

The apartment building owner posted revenue of $770.3 million in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $770.6 million.

For the current quarter ending in June, AvalonBay expects its per-share funds from operations to range from $2.72 to $2.82.

The company’s shares have declined almost 4% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P’s 500 index has climbed nearly 5%. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $174.28, a fall of 15% 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