Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Up 5.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Saia, Inc. shares surged 5.3% to trade at approximately $311.27, despite a significant drop in trading volume compared to its average.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Saia's price target to $365.00, while Benchmark set a target of $360.00, indicating positive analyst sentiment despite varied ratings.
• The company reported $2.67 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, although revenue slightly declined by 0.7% year-over-year.

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $306.44 and last traded at $311.27. 28,933 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 647,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $295.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SAIA. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $393.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Saia in a report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Saia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $387.00 to $410.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Saia from $325.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Saia from $251.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Saia from $422.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saia has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $347.16.

Saia Stock Up 9.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $292.25 and its 200-day moving average is $323.73.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $817.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $826.59 million. Saia had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 12.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAIA. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new position in Saia during the second quarter worth approximately $226,770,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Saia during the second quarter worth approximately $103,599,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Saia by 24,815.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 372,728 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $169,863,000 after purchasing an additional 371,232 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Saia by 17.3% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,275,661 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $795,184,000 after purchasing an additional 336,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Saia by 35.4% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,206,837 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $421,705,000 after purchasing an additional 315,514 shares during the last quarter.

Saia Company Profile

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.