Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Trading 5.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s stock price was up 5.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $538.03 and last traded at $531.40. Approximately 49,652 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 372,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $503.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SAIA. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Saia in a report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Saia from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $550.00 to $510.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $535.41.

Saia Trading Down 3.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $492.66 and a 200 day moving average of $462.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.79.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $789.00 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Saia

In related news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,631,200. This trade represents a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Saia in the third quarter valued at $100,000. LVW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saia by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Saia by 4.4% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Saia by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 58,226 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,460,000 after purchasing an additional 5,172 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.