Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Trading Down 5.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Saia's share price decreased by 5.8%, closing at $291.42, significantly lower than its previous close of $309.34.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets on Saia, with a consensus target price of $340.28 and rated most analysts giving a "Moderate Buy" average rating.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.67, surpassing analyst estimates, though revenue of $817.12 million was slightly below expectations.

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 5.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $290.48 and last traded at $291.42. 227,074 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 616,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SAIA. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Saia from $360.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Saia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Saia from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $306.00 target price (up from $277.00) on shares of Saia in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Saia from $374.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Saia presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.28.

Saia Trading Down 6.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 2.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $304.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

Institutional Trading of Saia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAIA. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in Saia during the second quarter worth about $226,770,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Saia during the second quarter worth about $103,599,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 336,046 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 315,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Saia by 11.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,831,614 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $989,452,000 after acquiring an additional 288,746 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.

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