Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at New Street Research

New Street Research upgraded shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

EQIX has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,094.00 to $1,053.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,028.00 to $990.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $822.00 to $834.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,004.94.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of EQIX opened at $844.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.95. Equinix has a twelve month low of $684.14 and a twelve month high of $994.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $833.33 and a 200-day moving average of $895.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $5.17. Equinix had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 6.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equinix will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $4.69 per share. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. Equinix’s payout ratio is 219.42%.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In related news, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.21, for a total value of $114,026.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,669 shares in the company, valued at $16,117,838.49. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.51, for a total transaction of $643,308.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,878,652.27. The trade was a 7.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,040 shares of company stock worth $6,547,068. Company 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 the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Equinix by 23.7% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Equinix by 1.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,828,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in Equinix by 20.1% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 3,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co increased its stake in Equinix by 203.8% in the first quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Equinix by 3.9% in the first quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

About Equinix

Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.