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

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Saia from $550.00 to $510.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Saia from $600.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Saia in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $526.39.

Saia Stock Down 0.7 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $447.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,599,114.30. This trade represents a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 3,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,663,299.34. This trade represents a 17.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

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

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.