UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Reiterates On Saia As Yield Momentum Accelerates

In a report published Thursday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Nicholas J. Bender reiterated a Buy rating on

, and raised the price target from $48.00 to $54.00. In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “Saia (SAIA) reported a mixed quarter yesterday morning, as a strong top line beat was offset by margin compression. Revenue of $330.4 million beat the consensus forecast by nearly 3%, but EPS of $0.53 was drastically below the Street's $0.69 forecast. The earnings miss was the result of unexpected accident severity during the quarter, which elevated insurance and claims expense $8.3 million yr/yr; this translated to a $0.19 headwind vs. our forecast. "Management is confident that this cost will prove to be one-time in nature, and expects 3Q14 OR to return to more normalized levels. There may yet be near-term margin pressure from rising capacity costs, but the company's improved pricing power should be an offset. We reiterate our Buy rating, and are raising our price target from $48 to $54.” Saia closed on Wednesday at $45.20.