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

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $535.41.

SAIA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Saia from $443.00 to $529.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Saia Stock Down 10.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SAIA opened at $406.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $480.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Saia has a 12-month low of $358.90 and a 12-month high of $628.34.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly 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 during 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%. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Saia will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.09, for a total transaction of $350,063.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,326 shares in the company, valued at $1,663,299.34. This represents a 17.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. The trade was a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Saia by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Saia during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Saia by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 94 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saia by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period.

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.