Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $3.29 Million in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,500 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,287,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saia in the first quarter valued at approximately $196,512,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Saia by 68.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Saia by 49.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 712,195 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $173,648,000 after purchasing an additional 236,105 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Saia by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 663,265 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $290,655,000 after purchasing an additional 230,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Saia by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 365,633 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $76,666,000 after purchasing an additional 218,782 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, VP Rohit Lal sold 2,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.55, for a total value of $1,539,898.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,017.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Rohit Lal sold 2,870 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.55, for a total transaction of $1,539,898.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,017.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Donna E. Epps sold 400 shares of Saia 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 sale, the director now owns 1,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $894,616.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,699 shares of company stock worth $14,966,813. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of SAIA stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $576.97. 254,851 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 278,288. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $573.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.62. Saia, Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.69 and a 12-month high of $628.34.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $751.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 16.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Saia from $500.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research cut Saia from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Saia from $504.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on Saia from $475.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on Saia from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.