Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Barclays

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $315.00 target price on the transportation company's stock, up from their prior target price of $290.00. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.68% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on SAIA. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Saia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Saia to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Saia from $422.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price objective on Saia and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Saia from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Saia has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $338.26.

Saia Stock Performance

NASDAQ SAIA opened at $306.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $361.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Saia has a fifty-two week low of $229.12 and a fifty-two week high of $624.55.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The transportation company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.77 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $787.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.18 million. Saia had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 9.91%. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Saia will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Saia by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 201 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,577,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Saia by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,904 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Saia by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,578,000 after buying an additional 77 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.