Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Bank of America from $322.00 to $367.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.01% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on SAIA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Saia from $346.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Saia from $328.00 to $319.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Saia from $371.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Saia in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Saia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Saia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.85.

Saia Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SAIA stock opened at $339.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 2.10. Saia has a fifty-two week low of $229.12 and a fifty-two week high of $545.12. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $296.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.21.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $824.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Saia

In related news, Director Donna E. Epps bought 422 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,115.20. This trade represents a 29.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Raymond R. Ramu sold 1,000 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.57, for a total transaction of $266,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,726.14. The trade was a 16.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at $226,770,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Saia by 1,300.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 701,418 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $209,976,000 after purchasing an additional 651,332 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Saia by 35.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,273,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $680,564,000 after acquiring an additional 594,674 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Saia during the 2nd quarter worth $103,599,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Saia by 141.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 557,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $166,782,000 after purchasing an additional 326,206 shares during the period.

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.