AGOURA HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Agoura Hills, California, said it had funds from operations of $116.9 million, or 32 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 31 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 net income of $30.2 million, or 9 cents per share.

The real estate company posted revenue of $312.6 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $308.3 million.

American Homes 4 Rent expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $1.24 to $1.30 per share.

The company's shares have climbed 23% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $36.75, an increase of 53% 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 AMH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AMH

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