Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Cut to Equal Weight at Stephens

Stephens downgraded shares of Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $255.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $515.00.

SAIA has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Saia from $498.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Saia from $560.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America downgraded Saia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $251.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Saia from $436.00 to $299.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $342.58.

Saia Price Performance

Saia stock opened at $240.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99. Saia has a 52 week low of $229.12 and a 52 week high of $624.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $443.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The transportation company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.77 by ($0.91). Saia had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $787.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Saia will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In other Saia news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,143,500. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.09, for a total transaction of $350,063.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,663,299.34. The trade was a 17.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAIA. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Saia by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,939,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $883,941,000 after purchasing an additional 794,197 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Saia by 24,815.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 372,728 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $169,863,000 after buying an additional 371,232 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in Saia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,199,000. Interval Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,229,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Saia by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 355,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $162,213,000 after purchasing an additional 153,896 shares during 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.