Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Saia, with 14 buy, six hold and one sell rating among 21 firms. The average 12-month price target is $448.37, above the reported share price of $351.03.
• Saia exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.51 in EPS versus the $3.38 consensus and $956.49 million in revenue. Revenue increased 17.1% year over year.
• Institutional investors generally increased their exposure, including significant purchases or stake increases by California State Teachers Retirement System, BlackRock, First Trust Advisors, Norges Bank and Jupiter Topco.

Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $448.3684.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Saia from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Saia in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Saia from $423.00 to $417.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Saia from $477.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $476.00 price target on shares of Saia in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Saia Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of SAIA opened at $351.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 2.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $379.26 and its 200 day moving average is $402.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. Saia has a fifty-two week low of $249.32 and a fifty-two week high of $494.71.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $956.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $956.20 million. Saia had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 8.19%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Saia will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 41,005.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,708,503 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,352,313,000 after acquiring an additional 12,677,586 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saia by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,545,731 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,072,160,000 after purchasing an additional 156,628 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Saia by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 804,284 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $282,529,000 after purchasing an additional 63,486 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Saia during the fourth quarter valued at about $130,411,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Saia during the second quarter valued at about $140,979,000.

About Saia

Saia, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia. Its principal operating subsidiary, Saia LTL Freight, provides less-than-truckload transportation, moving shipments from multiple customers in a single trailer. The company serves businesses across the contiguous United States and offers regional, interregional and long-distance freight services.

Saia's services include standard and expedited LTL shipping, guaranteed delivery options, volume and truckload solutions, and specialized transportation for certain freight needs.

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