Madison Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 7,573 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,451,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Saia by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Saia by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,707 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter.

Saia Price Performance

NASDAQ SAIA opened at $362.90 on Friday. Saia, Inc. has a 52 week low of $342.68 and a 52 week high of $624.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a PEG 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $442.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.36.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $794.69 million. Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,143,500. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,260,482.46. This 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 valued at $4,646,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SAIA. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Saia from $544.00 to $498.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Saia from $565.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $526.39.

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.