Stephens Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) Stock Price

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Stephens from $520.00 to $490.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 38.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Saia from $500.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Saia from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Saia in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Saia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Saia from $477.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $455.89.

Saia Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of SAIA stock traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $353.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 269,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 492,038. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Saia has a 52-week low of $249.32 and a 52-week high of $494.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $439.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $406.22.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $3.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.13. Saia had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $956.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $956.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Saia will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Saia

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

Trending Headlines about Saia

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.