Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $534.00 to $651.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on SAIA. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Saia from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Saia from $503.00 to $488.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Saia from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $511.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Saia from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Saia presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.00.

Saia Stock Performance

NASDAQ SAIA opened at $535.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $458.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.73. Saia has a fifty-two week low of $358.90 and a fifty-two week high of $628.34.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly 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). Saia had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $842.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Saia will post 13.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Saia by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,505,108 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,465,488,000 after purchasing an additional 15,605 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Saia by 16.2% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,069,332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $625,559,000 after acquiring an additional 149,074 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 869,859 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $412,566,000 after acquiring an additional 22,143 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Saia by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 692,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $302,761,000 after purchasing an additional 64,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in Saia by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 303,582 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $132,744,000 after purchasing an additional 31,991 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.