RIDGELAND, Miss. (AP) _ EastGroup Properties Inc. (EGP) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, said it had funds from operations of $57.7 million, or $1.45 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.39 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 $27.3 million, or 69 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $97.9 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $94.7 million.

EastGroup Properties expects full-year funds from operations to be $5.74 to $5.84 per share.

The company's shares have increased 13% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $156.33, an increase of 44% 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 EGP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/EGP

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