Zacks Research Upgrades Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) to Hold

Key Points

• Saia has been upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Analysts have raised Saia's target price, with Evercore ISI increasing it from $297 to $345 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Despite reporting a net margin of 8.96% and a revenue of $817.12 million for the last quarter, Saia experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.7%.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on SAIA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Saia from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $273.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Saia and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Saia from $325.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Saia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $387.00 to $410.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "hold" rating and set a $306.00 price target (up previously from $277.00) on shares of Saia in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.16.

Saia Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SAIA traded up $4.10 on Monday, reaching $296.46. 685,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 536,307. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $296.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.97. Saia has a 52 week low of $229.12 and a 52 week high of $624.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.28. Saia had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 8.96%.The firm had revenue of $817.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $826.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Saia by 127.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 84 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Saia by 177.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Saia during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Saia during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Saia by 52.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 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.