Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) Shares Acquired by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 48.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 782 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Saia were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saia by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,632,331 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $641,815,000 after buying an additional 39,660 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Saia by 10.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,583,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $386,089,000 after purchasing an additional 146,262 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Saia by 4.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 896,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $218,616,000 after purchasing an additional 35,076 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Saia by 68.1% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 802,094 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $319,755,000 after purchasing an additional 325,031 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Saia by 3.5% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 788,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $314,215,000 after purchasing an additional 26,798 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Saia

In related news, Director Donna E. Epps sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.14, for a total transaction of $226,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,616.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.46, for a total value of $4,000,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,600,738.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Donna E. Epps sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $565.14, for a total transaction of $226,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,616.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,699 shares of company stock valued at $14,966,813. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Stock Down 2.7 %

SAIA stock opened at $541.29 on Thursday. Saia, Inc. has a 52 week low of $244.69 and a 52 week high of $628.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $574.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $474.02.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.13. Saia had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The company had revenue of $751.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Saia’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 16.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SAIA. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Saia from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Saia from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Saia from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Saia from $500.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Saia in a research report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $676.00 price objective for the company. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $500.84.

Saia 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.