BOSTON (AP) _ Stag Industrial Inc. (STAG) on Tuesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The Boston-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $79.8 million, or 49 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 48 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 $20.9 million, or 13 cents per share.

The industrial real estate investment trust posted revenue of $134 million in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $131.8 million.

The company's shares have climbed 15% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $36.16, an increase of 46% 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 STAG at https://www.zacks.com/ap/STAG

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