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

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $527.65.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SAIA. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Saia from $620.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Saia from $651.00 to $644.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Saia from $443.00 to $529.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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 research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Saia from $499.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Saia Stock Up 1.1 %

SAIA stock opened at $499.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $502.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $461.59. Saia has a 52-week low of $358.90 and a 52-week high of $628.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.53 by ($0.07). Saia had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $842.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Saia will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saia

In related news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $627,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,631,200. This represents a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAIA. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Saia in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the third quarter worth about $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Saia by 319.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Saia by 148.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter.

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.