Short Interest in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Grows By 24.6%

Key Points

• Short interest in Saia, Inc. rose by 24.6% in August, reaching 1,570,000 shares, with a short-interest ratio of 2.4 days.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Saia, with Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosting its position by 35.4% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Saia, with upgrades leading to a consensus target price of $347.16, despite a recent earnings report showing a revenue decline year-over-year.

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,570,000 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the August 15th total of 1,260,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 641,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 641,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 11.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,831,614 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $989,452,000 after buying an additional 288,746 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 17.3% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,275,661 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $795,184,000 after buying an additional 336,046 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 35.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,206,837 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $421,705,000 after buying an additional 315,514 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Saia in the second quarter valued at $226,770,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 25.3% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 825,687 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $226,230,000 after buying an additional 166,486 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SAIA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Saia from $290.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and issued a $306.00 target price (up from $277.00) on shares of Saia in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Saia from $393.00 to $373.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Saia from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Saia from $274.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.16.

Saia Stock Performance

SAIA opened at $308.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Saia has a 1-year low of $229.12 and a 1-year high of $624.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $302.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.43.

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

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.

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