First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) by 76.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,739 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,695 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of Saia worth $11,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SAIA. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Saia by 172.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Saia in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Saia by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 94 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Saia by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In other Saia news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,500. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.09, for a total value of $350,063.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,663,299.34. The trade was a 17.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SAIA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $250.00 target price on shares of Saia in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered Saia from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Saia in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Saia from $498.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Saia from $436.00 to $299.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $358.21.

Saia Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SAIA traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $236.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,004,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Saia, Inc. has a 1-year low of $228.98 and a 1-year high of $624.55. The business's 50 day moving average price is $353.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $446.16. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The transportation company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by ($0.91). Saia had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $787.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $806.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 EPS for the current year.

About Saia

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.