Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $570.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Saia in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Saia from $544.00 to $498.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Saia in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Saia presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $530.00.

Saia Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ SAIA opened at $375.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $461.82 and a 200 day moving average of $468.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. Saia has a 1 year low of $358.90 and a 1 year high of $624.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $789.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.69 million. Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Saia will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In other Saia news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $3,671,619.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. This trade represents a 29.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,143,500. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAIA. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Saia by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Saia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Saia by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 94 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Saia by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter.

Saia Company Profile

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.