Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a drop of 20.6% from the November 30th total of 2,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 366,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SAIA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Saia from $499.00 to $566.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Saia from $443.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Saia from $651.00 to $644.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.88.

Saia Stock Performance

SAIA traded up $0.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $460.22. The stock had a trading volume of 137,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,995. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Saia has a 12 month low of $358.90 and a 12 month high of $628.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $512.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.56. The firm has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.74.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.53 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $842.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.82 million. Saia had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 18.00%. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Analysts expect that Saia will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saia

In other news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $627,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,631,200. The trade was a 11.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Saia during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Saia in the third quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Saia by 319.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 285 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 217 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.