Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 69.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,939,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 794,197 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 7.29% of Saia worth $883,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Saia in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Saia during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Saia by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. The trade was a 29.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,482.46. This trade represents a 8.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Saia Price Performance

SAIA stock opened at $359.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $431.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.06. Saia, Inc. has a 52-week low of $342.68 and a 52-week high of $624.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SAIA shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Saia from $565.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Saia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Saia in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $520.28.

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.