Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SAIA. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Saia from $371.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Saia in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Saia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Rothschild Redb upgraded Saia to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Saia from $305.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.10.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of Saia stock opened at $330.91 on Friday. Saia has a one year low of $229.12 and a one year high of $545.12. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.42.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.28. Saia had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 11.32%. The firm had revenue of $839.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Saia news, Director Donna E. Epps acquired 422 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $277.60 per share, for a total transaction of $117,147.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,852 shares in the company, valued at $514,115.20. This trade represents a 29.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Raymond R. Ramu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.57, for a total transaction of $266,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,306,726.14. This trade represents a 16.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Saia during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 69.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 142 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Saia by 52.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 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.