Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $430.11 and last traded at $414.50, with a volume of 35865 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $414.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAIA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Saia from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $262.00 price target on Saia in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Saia in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Saia from $310.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Saia in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saia currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.47.

Saia Stock Up 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $368.49 and its 200-day moving average is $324.92.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The transportation company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $789.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $773.82 million. Saia had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 9.86%. Saia’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Saia news, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 916 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $389.03, for a total value of $356,351.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,849.32. The trade was a 17.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 4,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.80, for a total value of $1,856,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,743 shares in the company, valued at $8,842,478.40. This represents a 17.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,533 shares of company stock valued at $6,015,055 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAIA. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Saia by 35.4% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,273,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $680,564,000 after buying an additional 594,674 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Saia by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,798,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $587,358,000 after acquiring an additional 43,690 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Saia by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,419,062 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $424,794,000 after acquiring an additional 11,454 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in Saia by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,383,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $414,281,000 after purchasing an additional 556,229 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Saia by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 923,912 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,676,000 after purchasing an additional 222,494 shares in the last quarter.

About Saia

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.