FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) _ UMH Properties Inc. (UMH) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its fourth quarter, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The results beat Wall Street expectations.

The Freehold, New Jersey-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $7.1 million, or 17 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 16 cents 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 a loss of $3.4 million, or 8 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $37.7 million in the period.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $25.2 million, swinging to a profit in the period. Revenue was reported as $146.6 million.

The company's shares have dropped 4% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $15.08, an increase of 8% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UMH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UMH

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News