Welltower reports 4Q results

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) _ Welltower Inc. (HCN) on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its fourth quarter, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The Toledo, Ohio-based real estate investment trust said it had funds from operations of $401.5 million, or $1.10 per share, in the period.

The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of $1.08 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 $333 million, or 91 cents per share.

The senior housing and health care real estate investment trust posted revenue of $1.08 billion in the period.

For the year, the company reported funds from operations of $1.64 billion, or $4.55 per share. Revenue was reported as $4.28 billion.

Welltower expects full-year funds from operations in the range of $4.15 to $4.25 per share.

The company's shares have risen slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased nearly 6 percent. The stock has increased 14 percent 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 HCN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HCN

Keywords: Welltower, Earnings Report