Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Short Interest Update

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 large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,570,000 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the August 15th total of 1,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 641,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 641,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Saia Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:SAIA traded down $7.22 on Monday, hitting $302.82. 561,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 522,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 2.00. Saia has a 52 week low of $229.12 and a 52 week high of $624.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $303.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.60.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $817.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business posted $3.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Saia will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Saia by 127.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 84 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Saia by 177.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Saia by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 208 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SAIA. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Saia and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Saia from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Saia from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $340.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Saia from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Saia currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $347.16.

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.