Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $357.83 and last traded at $361.82, with a volume of 49791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $370.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on SAIA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Saia from $566.00 to $558.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Saia in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Saia from $544.00 to $498.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Saia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $526.39.

Saia Stock Down 4.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $789.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $794.69 million. Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saia

In related news, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of Saia stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total transaction of $394,498.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,260,482.46. This trade represents a 8.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,500. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Saia in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Saia by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Saia by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 94 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Saia by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period.

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.