Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $414.43, but opened at $439.79. Saia shares last traded at $434.66, with a volume of 163,198 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SAIA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Saia from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Saia from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Saia in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $518.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Saia from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Saia from $510.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $489.63.

Saia Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $421.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $438.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.74.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The transportation company reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.17). Saia had a return on equity of 19.14% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $823.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.60 million. On average, analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 13.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Saia by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 546 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Saia during the first quarter valued at $2,953,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Saia by 1,556.1% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 26,299 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,385,000 after acquiring an additional 24,711 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Saia by 6.8% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 708,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $414,425,000 after purchasing an additional 45,155 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Saia during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,012,000.

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.