Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $293.15, but opened at $308.23. Saia shares last traded at $301.5570, with a volume of 94,325 shares.

Specifically, Director Donna E. Epps acquired 422 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $277.60 per share, for a total transaction of $117,147.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $514,115.20. The trade was a 29.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Saia from $360.00 to $346.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Susquehanna set a $350.00 price objective on Saia in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Saia from $365.00 to $330.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Saia from $305.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.10.

Saia Stock Up 3.7%

The stock has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 2.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.28. Saia had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The business had revenue of $839.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Saia’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Saia by 177.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 111 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Saia during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Saia during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Saia by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 142 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 52.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during 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.