The framework reads markdown. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved up 4.8% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 34% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 76%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 29%. The street (20 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $453.
Saia Inc
SAIA · NASDAQ · USD · Market cap $9.1B · 13,734 employees
Saia, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a transportation company in North America.
PASS · Titan Ethical · score 70.0Screen close, 2026-09-21 · not a live quote
Last reviewed 14 days ago
Screened 2026-09-21 · the tape above runs as of 09:01 UTC · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
What this means: price 348.04 against the desk's fair-value range, base estimate 361.45, over the last year.
- Trend Accumulation
- Insiders no filings inside 60 days, left as found
- Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
- Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
- Ethical passes the values gate
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
This name holds its accumulation label.
Saia Inc holds its Accumulation at $348.04. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 258 days.
| Phase | Accumulation |
| Quantitative state | The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 258 days |
| Price at the screen | $348.04 |
| Valuation | 33.59 trailing · 24.48 forward price to earnings |
| Values screen | PASS · score 70.0 |
| Beta | 2.14 |
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Full pass across all five screens. This security clears the Titan Ethical Standard: its business and its balance sheet both stay inside the lines.
| Test | Figure | Limit | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business activity | Permissible | Core business clean | Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending. | Pass |
| Debt load | 8.76% | Below 33% | Interest-bearing debt is just 8.8% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money. | Pass |
| Interest-bearing cash | 0.00% | Below 33% | Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 0.0% of assets, under the one-third limit. | Pass |
| Receivables | 10.11% | Below 49% | Money owed to the company is 10.1% of assets, under the 49% limit. | Pass |
| Revenue purity | 0.00% | Below 5% | Only 0.0% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line. | Pass |
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical ReadWhy It Clears, in Plain English
Saia clears all five screens. Its business is in a permissible area, its interest-bearing debt is about 9%, inside the ~33% line, and almost none of its income is interest, so it passes.
Read as at 2026-10-04. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
What the Numbers Say It Is WorthThe Fair Value Range
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-21 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 3.9% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 22 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits +26% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Both our model and the analysts see meaningful upside from here.
Price History & ProjectionsWhere it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-21 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain WordsTrucking Fleet Runs Above Its True Worth
Think of a convoy of lorries moving parcels across the States, each delivery keeping factories and shops supplied. Saia handles the smaller loads that fall between parcel carriers and full trucks, yet its results show little spark.
Revenue rises just 2 percent, profit margins sit at 8 percent and return on equity reaches only 10 percent. At 30 times forward earnings the shares already sit 11 percent above our fair value, leaving no margin of safety and an opportunity rating of none.
A narrow moat and exposure to economic cycles add further caution even though the ethical screen is cleared. Analyst targets sit higher, but the price offers no cushion. Analysis, not advice.
| Forward P/E | 24.5xpriced for continued growth |
| Trailing P/E | 33.6xa premium valuation |
| EPS, trailing | 10.36 |
| EPS, forward | 14.22 |
| Revenue growth | +17.1%steady growth |
| Profit margin | 8.2%thin but positive margins |
| Return on equity | 10.8%a modest return on shareholder capital |
| FCF yield | 1.49% |
| Debt to equity | 0.10minimal debt: a conservative balance sheet |
| Current ratio | 1.58healthy short-term liquidity |
| Beta | 2.14much more volatile than the market |
| Short interest, float | 0.05% |
| 52-week range | 249.32 - 494.71 |
| Moat | NARROW |
| Market cap | $9.1B |
| Employees | 13,734 |
The risks · The things to watch: it already moves more than the market on an average day.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to TradeSAIA trades on NASDAQ. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
Every Entry, As Written
The framework has shifted from distribution to markdown since the last review. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved down 19.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 34% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 76%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 29%. The street (20 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $453.
The framework has shifted from accumulation to distribution since the last review. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 15.1% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 34% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 76%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 29%. The street (20 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $453.
The framework reads accumulation. Smart money appears to be quietly building positions. This typically precedes a markup phase. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 34% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 76%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 29%. The street (20 analysts) rates it hold, with a mean price target of $453.
The framework reads accumulation. Smart money appears to be quietly building positions. This typically precedes a markup phase. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen (70). The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns.
The framework reads accumulation. Smart money appears to be quietly building positions. This typically precedes a markup phase. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen (70). The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
- 1 Cash-Producing Stock to Consider Right Now and 2 We Avoid StockStory · 23d ago
- Saia (SAIA) Grew August Tonnage 8.7%. Can Heavier Freight Create Greater Operating Leverage? Insider Monkey · 25d ago
- Diesel Prices Surge to Record High and J.B. Hunt and Other Freight Stocks Slide Barrons.com · 4 Sep 2026
- Saia’s tonnage growth steps higher in August as comps ease FreightWaves · 3 Sep 2026
- Ground Transportation Stocks Q2 Highlights: Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) StockStory · 1 Sep 2026
Headlines from third-party outlets, linked for reference: not our reporting, not advice.
Screened names in the same industry · explore each on its own page.
| Period | Price then | Price return | Divs per share | $1,000 became | Total return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $446.18 | +3.9% | · | $1,039 | +3.9% |
| 2 months | $401.85 | +15.4% | · | $1,154 | +15.4% |
| 3 months | $315.75 | +46.9% | · | $1,469 | +46.9% |
| 6 months | $343.66 | +34.9% | · | $1,349 | +34.9% |
| 1 year | $263.45 | +76.0% | · | $1,760 | +76.0% |
| 2 years | $449.01 | +3.3% | · | $1,033 | +3.3% |
| 3 years | $294.79 | +57.3% | · | $1,573 | +57.3% |
| 5 years | $205.66 | +125.5% | · | $2,255 | +125.5% |
Historical returns from market close data. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This entry now belongs to the ledger. Whatever SAIA does next, these words stay.
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Join the deskScreening is research, not a fatwa and not financial advice. Figures are drawn from public accounts at the screen date shown. Always manage your risk.