Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

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 traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SAIA. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Saia in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $600.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $565.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Saia in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Saia from $566.00 to $558.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Saia presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $526.39.

Saia Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $443.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). Saia had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Saia

In related news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,143,500. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total transaction of $394,498.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,260,482.46. This trade represents a 8.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,408,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,324,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,363,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Saia by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 226,137 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $103,057,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Saia by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in 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.