Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Outperform” Rating

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $978.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,085.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Equinix to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Equinix from $1,033.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $989.39.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of EQIX opened at $825.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $898.21 and a 200-day moving average of $908.63. The company has a market cap of $80.33 billion, a PE ratio of 96.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.74. Equinix has a one year low of $684.14 and a one year high of $994.03.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $4.69 per share. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. Equinix’s payout ratio is presently 219.42%.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In other news, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $912.21, for a total transaction of $114,026.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,669 shares in the company, valued at $16,117,838.49. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 1,331 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $903.71, for a total value of $1,202,838.01. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,508.09. The trade was a 16.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,054 shares of company stock worth $17,466,950. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equinix in the 4th quarter worth about $1,067,270,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 302.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,082,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $960,820,000 after buying an additional 813,666 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Equinix by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,399,042,000 after acquiring an additional 586,034 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Equinix by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,804,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,701,188,000 after acquiring an additional 401,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $328,899,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.