Housing firm tops earnings forecast

Austin-based American Campus Communities is 5% ahead of last year.

Austin-based student housing company American Campus Communities Inc. on Monday reported third quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations.

As a real estate investment trust, American Campus reported its net income as funds from operation — a calculation that adds depreciation and amortization expenses to earnings — at $48.7 million, or 43 cents per share.

That was a 5 percent increase over the same quarter in 2014, and topped analysts’ expectations surveyed by Zacks Investment Research of 42 cents per share for the quarter ending in Sept. 30.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the real estate investment trust industry.

“We are very pleased with our performance this quarter,” Bill Bayless, American Campus CEO, said in the earnings report released after the stock market closed Monday. “Operationally, we remain very bullish on the state of the sector” as public and private student housing players have reported increases in both occupancy and rental rates.

American Campus had revenue of $180.8 million for the third quarter, down less than 1 percent from the $181.9 million reported in the same quarter last year, the company said.

The decline was tied to the loss of revenue and operating income associated with properties sold since Oct. 1, 2014, the company said.

American Campus said it expects full-year funds from operations to be $2.35 to $2.38 per share.

Before it reported its earnings Monday, American Campus’ shares closed Monday up 20 cents at $39.81. Shares in American Campus have a 52-week trading range of $32.12 to $45.38.

During the third quarter, the company completed four new projects totaling $297.6 million in development costs and representing 3,187 beds. As of Sept. 30, those new properties were 88.8 percent occupied for the 2015-2016 academic year, American Campus said.

The company also said it awarded or is directly negotiating five new on-campus projects, including an American Campus Equity development with the University of California at Berkeley. This year, the company said, it has worked on 15 new on-campus projects through its public-private partnership platform.

In all, American Campus owned 158 student housing properties containing about 96,300 beds by the end of the third quarter, the company said. Counting properties owned by other parties, American Campus owns or manages 197 properties with 125,800 beds, the company said.