New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,753 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,575 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.28% of Saia worth $33,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Saia during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,408,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE bought a new position in Saia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,324,000. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Saia by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Saia by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,886,000 after buying an additional 2,041 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Saia by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 59,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,285,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on SAIA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Saia from $550.00 to $510.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Saia from $443.00 to $529.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Saia from $566.00 to $558.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saia presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $535.41.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of Saia stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,482.46. This trade represents a 8.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of Saia 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. The trade was a 29.92 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Stock Performance

NASDAQ SAIA opened at $453.90 on Friday. Saia, Inc. has a 52-week low of $358.90 and a 52-week high of $628.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $482.92 and a 200-day moving average of $465.82.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by ($0.03). Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $789.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $794.69 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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.