Wasatch Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 692,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,351 shares during the period. Saia makes up 1.5% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Saia were worth $302,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Saia by 161.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 68 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Saia by 754.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 94 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on SAIA shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Saia from $416.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Saia from $479.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Saia from $534.00 to $651.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Saia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $440.00 to $437.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.00.

Insider Activity at Saia

In related news, EVP Rohit Lal sold 1,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $627,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,270 shares in the company, valued at $4,631,200. This trade represents a 11.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:SAIA opened at $569.08 on Friday. Saia, Inc. has a 1 year low of $358.90 and a 1 year high of $628.34. The stock has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $445.47.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The transportation company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.53 by ($0.07). Saia had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The company had revenue of $842.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Saia, Inc. will post 13.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.