Alliancebernstein L.P. Boosts Stake in Saia, Inc. $SAIA

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein L.P. increased its stake in Saia, Inc. by 17.3%, owning approximately 8.54% of the company, worth around $795 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Saia reported $2.67 earnings per share for the latest quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $2.39, although revenue fell by 0.7% year-over-year.
• Research analysts have raised target prices on Saia's stock, with Citigroup increasing their target to $393, indicating a consensus average target price of $347.16.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,275,661 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 336,046 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 8.54% of Saia worth $795,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Saia during the fourth quarter worth $89,229,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Saia by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 75,726 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,511,000 after buying an additional 6,274 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Saia by 55.6% in the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,832,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Saia by 28.1% in the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 38,760 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 8,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saia in the first quarter valued at $483,000.

Saia Stock Up 5.4%

NASDAQ SAIA traded up $15.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $313.15. 752,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 507,216. The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $298.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.42. Saia, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.12 and a 1 year high of $624.55.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.28. Saia had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 8.96%.The company had revenue of $817.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $826.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. Saia's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SAIA. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Saia from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $387.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Saia from $325.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Saia from $251.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Saia from $290.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Saia from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $347.16.

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.