Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Stake in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its holdings in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 730,807 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 41,889 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 2.75% of Saia worth $333,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Saia by 72.9% during 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. bought a new position in Saia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,514,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,767,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Saia by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 692,405 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $302,761,000 after purchasing an additional 64,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Saia in the third quarter worth $22,979,000.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction 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 $8,599,114.30. This represents a 29.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of Saia stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,500. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Saia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $570.00 price target for the company. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Saia from $540.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Saia from $565.00 to $484.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Saia presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.06.

Saia Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ SAIA traded down $6.07 on Monday, reaching $352.93. 205,750 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 426,384. Saia, Inc. has a 12 month low of $342.68 and a 12 month high of $624.55. The company has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $431.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $794.69 million. Saia had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS 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.