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

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $522.59.

SAIA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Saia from $620.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Saia from $651.00 to $644.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Saia from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $511.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Saia from $481.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of SAIA opened at $495.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Saia has a 52-week low of $358.90 and a 52-week high of $628.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $503.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.41. The company has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.79.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Saia will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saia

In other Saia 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 transaction of $627,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,631,200. The trade was a 11.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Saia by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,982 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Saia by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,093 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 469 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter valued at $820,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Saia during the fourth quarter worth $366,000.

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.