Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $54.70 and last traded at $54.58, with a volume of 224,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.80.

The transportation company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $358.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.53 million. Saia had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 3.92%. Saia’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered Saia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Cowen and Company increased their price objective on Saia from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, BidaskClub lowered Saia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.20.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAIA. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Saia by 0.5% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,265 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Saia by 2.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund raised its stake in shares of Saia by 0.9% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 18,419 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Saia by 3.0% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Saia by 2.3% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,223 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.60% of the company’s stock.

The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.13 and its 200 day moving average is $47.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 0.78.

About Saia

Saia, Inc is a transportation company. The Company provides regional and interregional less-than-truckload (LTL) services. The Company also offers a range of other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited and logistics services across the United States. The Company’s subsidiary Saia Motor Freight Line, LLC (Saia LTL Freight) is a LTL carrier.