Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $543.02, but opened at $452.09. Saia shares last traded at $447.94, with a volume of 596,634 shares trading hands.

The transportation company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $754.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.36 million. Saia had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.31%. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAIA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Saia from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Saia from $475.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wolfe Research downgraded Saia from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James increased their price target on Saia from $565.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Saia from $500.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Saia presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $500.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Rohit Lal sold 2,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.55, for a total transaction of $1,539,898.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,017.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.46, for a total value of $4,000,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,248 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,738.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Rohit Lal sold 2,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.55, for a total transaction of $1,539,898.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,017.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,699 shares of company stock valued at $14,966,813. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Saia during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Saia during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Saia in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000.

Saia Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $568.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $478.98.

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.