Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,161 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,845 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.09% of Saia worth $10,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position 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 buying an additional 105,356 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Saia during the fourth quarter valued at $45,767,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Saia by 64.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 250,626 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $109,589,000 after buying an additional 98,383 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Saia by 10.2% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 692,405 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $302,761,000 after buying an additional 64,351 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Saia during the third quarter valued at $22,979,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total transaction of $394,498.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,260,482.46. This represents a 8.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $3,671,619.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 sold 9,453 shares of company stock worth $4,693,318 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAIA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Saia from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Saia from $443.00 to $529.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Saia in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saia currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $535.41.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SAIA traded down $28.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $476.40. 402,169 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,099. Saia, Inc. has a 1 year low of $358.90 and a 1 year high of $628.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $484.32 and a 200 day moving average of $465.90.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.03). The business 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%. Saia's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.