Brokerages Set Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) PT at $1,001.41

Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,001.4091.

A number of analysts recently commented on EQIX shares. HSBC set a $1,050.00 price target on Equinix and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In other Equinix news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 927 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total transaction of $743,250.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,337 shares in the company, valued at $5,882,659.86. This represents a 11.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,353 shares of company stock valued at $11,283,043. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 190.9% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equinix by 433.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its holdings in Equinix by 70.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Equinix by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $974.26 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $832.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $801.20. The firm has a market cap of $95.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.86, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Equinix has a 1 year low of $701.41 and a 1 year high of $992.90.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equinix will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix’s payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

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.