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- Stifel has upgraded Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) to buy from hold given its recent quarterly results, recent pullback in share price, and room for growth.
- The firm also upgraded its price target to $425 from $412 (~19% upside based on Tuesday's close).
- Shares are up 5% in Wednesday trading.
- Analyst J. Bruce Chan said that following Q3 results, in which the trucking company beat on both lines, "there's opportunity for more, gradual margin improvement as labor proficiency improves, as density builds, and as core pricing continues to expand."
- He added that Yellow Corp.'s (YELLQ) bankruptcy and exit from the market has helped rivals by providing additional volume, which should help Saia's (SAIA) growth.
- "The company has been on a steady path of service improvement, and is already beginning to generate return on its investments in labor, equipment, and service center capacity," Chan wrote. "There remains plenty of pricing runway ahead, in our view."