Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: 29 research firms give Equinix a "Moderate Buy" rating (6 holds, 18 buys, 5 strong buys) with an average 12‑month price target of about $1,033.57, and firms like JPMorgan have recently raised targets (to $1,100).
• Recent quarter: Equinix missed estimates with EPS of $8.91 vs. $9.07 expected and revenue of $2.42B vs. $2.46B expected, though revenue grew about 7% year‑over‑year and net margin was 14.65%.
• Dividend update: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (from $4.69), implying a $20.64 annualized payout and a ~2.0% yield, while the payout ratio remains elevated at ~150.1%.

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,033.5652.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th.

Equinix Trading Up 2.6%

EQIX stock opened at $1,056.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $952.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $844.66. Equinix has a fifty-two week low of $710.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,057.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $104.23 billion, a PE ratio of 76.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.01.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equinix will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. 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 yield of 2.0%. Equinix's payout ratio is presently 150.11%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other Equinix news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total transaction of $2,146,893.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,946,216.56. The trade was a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total transaction of $1,072,065.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,681,391.75. The trade was a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,266 shares of company stock valued at $14,927,320 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Equinix

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,398,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,265,706,000 after purchasing an additional 107,227 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 25.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,875,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,252,094,000 after purchasing an additional 588,967 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,609,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,998,978,000 after purchasing an additional 493,141 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,567,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,959,731,000 after purchasing an additional 25,383 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 3.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,969,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,542,595,000 after purchasing an additional 56,592 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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