Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Key Points

• Benchmark has reiterated a "buy" rating for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) with a price target of $360.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.88% from its previous close.
• Saia's latest quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $2.67, exceeding expectations, despite a revenue decline of 0.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Analyst ratings for Saia include one Strong Buy, ten Buy, and ten Hold ratings, reflecting a consensus price target of $347.16.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $360.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock. Benchmark's price target points to a potential upside of 19.88% from the stock's previous close.

SAIA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Saia from $297.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Saia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $387.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Saia from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Saia and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $306.00 price objective (up previously from $277.00) on shares of Saia in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Saia currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $347.16.

Saia Stock Down 0.7%

Saia stock opened at $300.30 on Thursday. Saia has a one year low of $229.12 and a one year high of $624.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $303.57 and a 200 day moving average of $301.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 2.00.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $817.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $826.59 million. Saia had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in Saia by 4.1% during the first quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 741 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its position in Saia by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saia by 21.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 248 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Saia by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,238 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 4.4% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 45 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.