Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on EQIX. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $915.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,016.86.

Equinix Price Performance

EQIX opened at $995.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $918.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $831.34. Equinix has a fifty-two week low of $701.41 and a fifty-two week high of $999.67. The firm has a market cap of $97.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Equinix will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 150.11%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In related news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total value of $2,146,893.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,857 shares in the company, valued at $11,946,216.56. This represents a 15.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 927 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total transaction of $743,250.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,882,659.86. The trade was a 11.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,842 shares of company stock valued at $14,494,840. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Equinix

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EQIX. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth approximately $588,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Equinix by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 444,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,795,000 after purchasing an additional 25,259 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter valued at $1,415,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Equinix by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 112,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,174,000 after purchasing an additional 30,572 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.