Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)’s stock price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $342.33 and traded as high as $349.01. Saia shares last traded at $343.07, with a volume of 780,580 shares trading hands.

More Saia News

Here are the key news stories impacting Saia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: Third-quarter revenue reached a record $982.5 million, up 17% year over year and above the roughly $967 million consensus estimate. Diluted EPS was $3.41, topping analyst expectations near $3.30 and rising from $2.81 on an adjusted basis a year earlier. Saia Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong freight volumes and pricing: LTL tonnage per workday set a record and increased 8.9%, while revenue per shipment excluding fuel surcharges rose 5.8%. Management said its expanded terminal network, equipment and technology investments are supporting service improvements and market-share gains. Saia’s Expanded Terminal Network Delivers Record Revenue, Tonnage
• Positive Sentiment: Capital return and balance-sheet support: Saia authorized up to $250 million in common-stock repurchases. Year-to-date free cash flow exceeded $240 million, while the company ended the quarter with $202.5 million of cash and $100 million of debt, giving it flexibility to fund growth and buybacks. Saia Q3 Results and Repurchase Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Board enhancement: Transportation and logistics veteran Todd C. Fowler joined the board and its Audit Committee, adding expertise in capital markets, autonomous trucking and supply-chain technology. Saia Appoints Todd Fowler
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains: The operating ratio worsened to 87.6% from 85.9% a year earlier, indicating that expenses grew faster than operating income. LTL revenue per hundredweight excluding fuel surcharges declined 2.2%, highlighting potential mix or pricing pressure despite higher revenue per shipment.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAIA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Saia in a report on Friday, September 4th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Saia from $412.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Saia from $527.00 to $504.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Saia from $438.00 to $423.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Saia from $520.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $437.58.

Saia Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $342.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $387.61.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.30 by $0.11. Saia had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $982.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $966.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.81 EPS. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Saia, Inc. will post 11.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Saia

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAIA. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 83.7% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia during the third quarter worth $217,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Saia by 117.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 252 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Saia by 118.7% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 7,243 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 8.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period.

Saia Company Profile

Saia, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia. Through its primary subsidiary, Saia LTL Freight, the company provides less-than-truckload transportation, moving palletized and other freight shipments that do not require a full trailer. Its services include standard and time-definite delivery, expedited transportation, guaranteed services, and shipment tracking.

Saia also provides non-asset-based logistics services through Saia Logistics Services, which helps customers arrange freight transportation using third-party carriers.