Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 794,197 Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) by 69.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,939,615 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 794,197 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 7.29% of Saia worth $883,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SAIA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Saia in the fourth quarter valued at $64,410,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Saia by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 249,782 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $113,833,000 after purchasing an additional 105,356 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter valued at $46,514,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saia during the fourth quarter worth about $45,767,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Saia during the third quarter worth approximately $22,979,000.

Saia Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SAIA traded down $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $318.05. The stock had a trading volume of 664,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,725. Saia, Inc. has a 12 month low of $287.73 and a 12 month high of $624.55. The company has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $419.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.37. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $789.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $794.69 million. Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. Saia's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of Saia stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,143,500. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of Saia stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAIA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James decreased their price target on Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Saia from $544.00 to $498.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Saia from $566.00 to $558.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Saia from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $524.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $509.72.

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.