Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,001.4091.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $915.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 price target on Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $928.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Equinix has a 1-year low of $701.41 and a 1-year high of $992.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $811.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $795.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.92 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Equinix will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is 136.44%.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In related news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total value of $1,072,065.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $7,681,391.75. This represents a 12.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total value of $2,146,893.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,946,216.56. This represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,353 shares of company stock valued at $11,283,043. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinix

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in Equinix by 21.1% in the second quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Equinix by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 544,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,444,000 after buying an additional 7,409 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in Equinix by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 36,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,908,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Equinix by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,875,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,252,094,000 after buying an additional 588,967 shares during the period. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership boosted its holdings in Equinix by 10.0% in the third quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 26,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Company Profile

Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.

Equinix’s offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.