Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Cut to “Hold” at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI lowered shares of Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) from an outperform rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SAIA. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Saia in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Saia from $349.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on Saia from $305.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Saia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saia in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $343.95.

Saia Stock Up 0.1%

Saia stock opened at $358.75 on Tuesday. Saia has a one year low of $229.12 and a one year high of $538.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $317.16 and a 200 day moving average of $305.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88 and a beta of 2.09.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.28. Saia had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $839.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Saia news, Director Donna E. Epps purchased 422 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $277.60 per share, with a total value of $117,147.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $514,115.20. This trade represents a 29.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Raymond R. Ramu sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.57, for a total transaction of $266,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,726.14. This trade represents a 16.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAIA. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Saia in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 177.5% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 111 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Saia by 69.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 142 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Saia by 6,400.0% during the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter.

Saia Company Profile

Saia, Inc is a publicly traded transportation company specializing in less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services across North America. Headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia, the company focuses on the efficient movement of time-sensitive freight for a diverse customer base that spans retail, manufacturing, automotive, and healthcare industries. By leveraging a network of terminals and service centers, Saia provides tailored solutions designed to optimize supply chain performance.

The company’s core offerings include regional, interregional, and national LTL shipping, supported by volumetric LTL and port intermodal services.