Stephens Lowers Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Price Target to $490.00

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Stephens from $520.00 to $490.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stephens’ price target suggests a potential upside of 38.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on SAIA. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Saia in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Saia from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Evercore raised shares of Saia from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Saia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $524.00 to $488.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Saia in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $455.89.

Saia Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SAIA traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $353.02. 269,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,038. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $439.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.13. Saia has a one year low of $249.32 and a one year high of $494.71.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $3.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $956.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.20 million. Saia had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 7.84%.Saia’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Saia will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Saia by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,731,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Saia by 14.1% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Saia in the second quarter worth $485,000. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its holdings in Saia by 23.2% in the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 7,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the second quarter worth $16,908,000.

Saia News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Saia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel upgraded Saia from “hold” to “buy” and set a $438 price target, signaling confidence that the recent selloff may have created an attractive entry point. The Fly analyst upgrade report
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings exceeded expectations: diluted EPS rose 31.5% year over year to $3.51, while revenue increased 17.1% to a record $956.5 million, broadly matching estimates. Operating income climbed 26% to $125.2 million, and the operating ratio improved to 86.9%. Saia Reports Second Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying freight demand remained solid, with LTL tonnage per workday up 8.4% and shipments up 4.4%. Saia also reported a record-low 0.3% claims ratio and ended the quarter with $84 million in cash and $100.1 million of debt.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $490 to $400 and maintained an “equal weight” rating. The revised target still implies upside, but the substantial reduction reflects more cautious valuation or earnings expectations. Benzinga analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects roughly 100 basis points of sequential operating-ratio deterioration in Q3. Investors are concerned about a July 1 company-wide wage increase, higher fuel and purchased-transportation costs, and inflation in insurance and workers’ compensation expenses. Saia Q3 operating-ratio outlook
• Negative Sentiment: July shipment growth was only about 1% despite tonnage growth of approximately 7.5%, suggesting softer shipment activity and possible customer resistance or volatility following Saia’s 7.1% general rate increase. Excluding fuel surcharges, Q2 revenue per hundredweight declined 2.2%, indicating pricing pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider activity provides an additional cautionary signal: the company’s reported open-market insider transactions over the past six months consisted of nine sales and no purchases.

About Saia

Saia, Inc is a publicly traded transportation company specializing in less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services across North America. Headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia, the company focuses on the efficient movement of time-sensitive freight for a diverse customer base that spans retail, manufacturing, automotive, and healthcare industries. By leveraging a network of terminals and service centers, Saia provides tailored solutions designed to optimize supply chain performance.

The company’s core offerings include regional, interregional, and national LTL shipping, supported by volumetric LTL and port intermodal services.