 ATLANTA AP _ Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. PDM on Wednesday reported a key measure of profitability in its first quarter. The results met Wall Street expectations. The real estate investment trust, based in Atlanta, said it had funds from operations of 59.9 million, or 47 cents per share, in the period. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 47 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 8.7 million, or 7 cents per share. The commercial real estate investment trust posted revenue of 137.2 million in the period, which beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected 136.9 million. The companys shares have decreased 18 since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit 18.33, a drop of 11 in the last 12 months. ___ This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PDM at 