Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock Price

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Barclays from $620.00 to $600.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the transportation company's stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential upside of 23.23% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SAIA. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $503.00 to $488.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Saia from $440.00 to $443.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Saia from $651.00 to $644.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down previously from $565.00) on shares of Saia in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $522.59.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SAIA traded down $6.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $486.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 593,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,125. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $506.97 and a 200 day moving average of $459.88. Saia has a twelve month low of $358.90 and a twelve month high of $628.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.79.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last released 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). Saia had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $842.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $839.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Saia will post 13.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,270 shares in the company, valued at $4,631,200. This represents a 11.93 % decrease 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. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Saia in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tobam purchased a new position in Saia in the third quarter worth approximately $100,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Saia by 319.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 285 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Saia by 148.0% in the fourth 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.

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.