Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $506.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Saia from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Saia from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Saia from $479.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Saia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $440.00 to $437.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Saia from $510.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Saia Trading Down 1.8 %

SAIA opened at $547.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.74. Saia has a 12 month low of $358.90 and a 12 month high of $628.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $488.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $448.11.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.53 by ($0.07). Saia had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $842.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Saia’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Saia will post 13.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $627,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,631,200. The trade was a 11.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Saia by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Saia by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Saia by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Saia by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 659 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter.

About Saia

Saia, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a transportation company in North America. The company provides less-than-truckload services for shipments between 100 and 10,000 pounds; and other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services. It also offers other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services.