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

Key Points

• Analysts give Equinix a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating — based on 28 analysts — with an average 12‑month target of about $1,013.43, and several brokers (HSBC, UBS, BMO, Guggenheim) recently raised targets into the ~$985–$1,050 range.
• In the most recent quarter Equinix missed EPS (reported $8.91 vs. $9.07 expected) and revenue ($2.42B vs. $2.46B expected), though revenue was up about 7% year‑over‑year.
• Equinix raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (=$20.64 annualized, ~2.1% yield) but carries a high dividend payout ratio (~150%); insiders sold roughly $14.5M of stock last quarter while institutions own ~95% of shares.

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,013.4348.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Equinix and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $933.00 to $985.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of EQIX stock opened at $974.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $887.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $818.97. Equinix has a 52-week low of $701.41 and a 52-week high of $992.90. 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 capitalization of $95.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.92 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equinix will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $605,549.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,990,608.86. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $293,162.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 12,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,105,226.86. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 16,842 shares of company stock worth $14,494,840 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinix in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,415,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 37.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Equinix by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 842 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,053,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new position in Equinix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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