Neuberger Berman Group LLC Acquires 46,157 Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 128.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 82,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 46,157 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Saia were worth $37,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Saia by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,939,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $883,941,000 after buying an additional 794,197 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Saia in the 4th quarter worth about $64,410,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in Saia by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 249,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,833,000 after acquiring an additional 105,356 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,514,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,767,000.

Saia Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SAIA opened at $351.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99. Saia, Inc. has a 1-year low of $287.50 and a 1-year high of $624.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $399.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $457.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $789.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.69 million. Saia had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAIA. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Saia from $560.00 to $455.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Saia from $540.00 to $455.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Saia from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $455.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Saia in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $486.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,143,500. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $3,671,619.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. This represents a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Company Profile

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.