Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Trading Up 8.7% - Should You Buy?

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 8.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $261.30 and last traded at $261.00. Approximately 429,169 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 483,431 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SAIA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Saia from $436.00 to $299.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Saia from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $273.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $277.00 target price on shares of Saia in a report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Saia from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut Saia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $251.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 28th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $342.58.

Saia Trading Up 4.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 2.03. The firm's 50 day moving average is $335.27 and its 200 day moving average is $437.99.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The transportation company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by ($0.91). Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $787.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,260,482.46. This trade represents a 8.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.09, for a total value of $350,063.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,663,299.34. This represents a 17.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAIA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Saia by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saia by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,685 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its holdings in Saia by 4.1% during the 1st 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. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Saia by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 678 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 30 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.