Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Receives “Buy” Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $1,127.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $1,087.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Equinix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays increased their price target on Equinix from $870.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. HSBC set a $1,050.00 price target on Equinix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $933.00 to $985.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,016.86.

Equinix Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $980.24 on Tuesday. Equinix has a 52 week low of $701.41 and a 52 week high of $992.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $914.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $830.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $96.31 billion, a PE ratio of 71.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. 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. Equinix’s payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total value of $1,072,065.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,681,391.75. This represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,946,216.56. The trade was a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,842 shares of company stock worth $14,494,840 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQIX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Equinix by 11.5% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Equinix by 21.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Equinix in the second quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Equinix by 6.9% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

About Equinix

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.