Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires New Stake in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 79,451 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $36,208,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.30% of Saia as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Saia by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,939,615 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $883,941,000 after acquiring an additional 794,197 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Saia during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,410,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Saia by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 249,782 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $113,833,000 after purchasing an additional 105,356 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Saia during the fourth quarter worth about $46,514,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Saia in the 4th quarter worth about $45,767,000.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,500. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $3,671,619.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,599,114.30. This represents a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Saia Trading Up 9.2 %

Shares of SAIA stock traded up $22.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $262.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,588,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,664. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 2.03. Saia, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.12 and a 52-week high of $624.55. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $344.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $441.80.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SAIA shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Saia from $422.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Saia from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Saia from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $273.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $250.00 target price on Saia in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Saia presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.58.

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.