BETHESDA, Md. (AP) _ Saul Centers Inc. (BFS) on Thursday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results missed Wall Street expectations.

The real estate investment trust, based in Bethesda, Maryland, said it had funds from operations of $29.8 million, or 69 cents per share, in the period.

The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 81 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 $6.9 million, or 31 cents per share.

The real estate investment trust involved mostly in shopping malls posted revenue of $56.5 million in the period, also missing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $57.1 million.

The company's shares have fallen 21 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $48.94, a drop of 19 percent in the last 12 months.

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