Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $507.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SAIA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Saia from $566.00 to $558.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $565.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Saia in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Saia from $510.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saia

In other Saia news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. This represents a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,482.46. The trade was a 8.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Saia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAIA. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Saia by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,939,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $883,941,000 after purchasing an additional 794,197 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Saia by 24,815.0% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 372,728 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $169,863,000 after acquiring an additional 371,232 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter valued at about $137,199,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,229,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 355,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $162,213,000 after purchasing an additional 153,896 shares in the last quarter.

Saia Price Performance

Saia stock opened at $325.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99. Saia has a 12-month low of $287.50 and a 12-month 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $412.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.97.

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

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.