First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 76.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,695 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.09% of Saia worth $11,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SAIA. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Saia by 172.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Saia in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Saia by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 94 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saia by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SAIA. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Saia in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Saia from $560.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Saia from $557.00 to $422.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Saia from $524.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Saia has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.94.

Saia Price Performance

Saia stock opened at $245.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $362.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99. Saia, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.21 and a 1 year high of $624.55.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The transportation company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $787.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.18 million. Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saia

In other news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $3,671,619.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. This trade represents a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,143,500. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Saia

Saia, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a transportation company in North America. The company provides less-than-truckload services for shipments between 100 and 10,000 pounds; and other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services. It also offers other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited, and logistics services.