Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $443.00 to $529.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.02% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Saia from $499.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on Saia from $481.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Saia from $620.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down from $565.00) on shares of Saia in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $651.00 to $644.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Saia currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $527.65.

Saia Stock Down 1.4 %

SAIA opened at $494.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.79. Saia has a 12 month low of $358.90 and a 12 month high of $628.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $502.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.53 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $842.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.82 million. Saia had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 11.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Saia will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Saia news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $627,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,631,200. The trade was a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Saia in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in Saia in the third quarter valued at $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Saia by 319.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 285 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Saia by 148.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in 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.