Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock Price

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $498.00 to $435.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.06% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SAIA. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Saia in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Saia from $565.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $486.83.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of SAIA stock opened at $374.80 on Tuesday. Saia has a 52 week low of $287.50 and a 52 week high of $624.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $401.75 and a 200-day moving average of $458.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Saia will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Saia news, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.09, for a total value of $350,063.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 3,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,663,299.34. This represents a 17.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $3,671,619.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,599,114.30. The trade was a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Saia in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Saia by 291.7% during 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing 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.