Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $349.29, but opened at $359.52. Saia shares last traded at $348.31, with a volume of 9,451 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAIA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Saia from $550.00 to $510.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Saia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $526.39.

Saia Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $447.85 and a 200-day moving average of $467.06.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,260,482.46. This represents a 8.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,500. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Saia in the third quarter valued at $1,408,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE bought a new position in shares of Saia during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,324,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Saia during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,363,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Saia by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 226,137 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $103,057,000 after buying an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Saia by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during 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.