Raymond James & Wells Fargo Cut Saia's Price Target - Read Why - Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Raymond James analyst Patrick Tyler Brown lowered the price target for Saia Inc SAIA to $235 (20% upside) from $275 while maintaining the Outperform rating on the shares.
The analyst states that the sharp decline in truck spot rates has continued to dominate headlines — as per data, it is estimated that current truck spot rates per mile have fallen all the way back to “peak” 2014 levels.
Brown believes that the truck spot market has been at the epicenter of a well-documented shift from goods to services spending — all while truckload operating costs have increased starkly.
The analyst states that positive impacts from Saia’s pricing, freight mix, and operating efficiency initiatives are compounding nicely, setting the stage for sustained margin improvement.
He adds that Saia’s progress and commitment to improving its network continue to cement it as one of the more idiosyncratic growth stories within his transport coverage.
Brown remains optimistic over LTL pricing power, given industry capacity utilization has structurally increased over the past decade.
Wells Fargo analyst Allison Poliniak Cusic maintained Saia with an Overweight and lowered the price target from $290 to $238 (22% upside).
Price Action: SAIA shares are trading higher by 0.34% at $195.36 on the last check Friday.