Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $620.00 to $600.00. The stock had previously closed at $493.04, but opened at $481.67. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Saia shares last traded at $482.27, with a volume of 25,603 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Saia from $651.00 to $644.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective (down from $565.00) on shares of Saia in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Saia from $499.00 to $566.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $522.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $627,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Saia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Saia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 319.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period.

Saia Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $506.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $842.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.82 million. Saia had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 11.83%. Saia’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 13.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.