Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 315,162 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 278,976 shares.The stock last traded at $524.36 and had previously closed at $546.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Saia from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Saia in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $676.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Saia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $484.00 to $526.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Saia from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Saia from $504.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $500.84.

Saia Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $570.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $478.85. The company has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.62.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.13. Saia had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The company had revenue of $751.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 16.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, Director Donna E. Epps sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.14, for a total transaction of $226,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,583 shares in the company, valued at $894,616.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Douglas L. Col sold 1,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $935,851.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,680,049.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Donna E. Epps sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.14, for a total transaction of $226,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,616.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,699 shares of company stock valued at $14,966,813 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Saia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Saia by 5.7% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Saia by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Saia by 1.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Saia by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Saia by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 33 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.