Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 30 Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 678 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Saia were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Saia by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 249,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,833,000 after buying an additional 105,356 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Saia during the 4th quarter worth $46,514,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saia in the 4th quarter worth $45,767,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Saia by 10.2% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 692,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $302,761,000 after purchasing an additional 64,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Saia during the third quarter valued at about $22,979,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 17,645 shares in the company, valued at $8,599,114.30. The trade was a 29.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of Saia stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $230,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,143,500. This represents a 9.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Stock Down 0.8 %

Saia stock opened at $378.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $438.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.01. Saia, Inc. has a 1-year low of $342.68 and a 1-year high of $624.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.69 million. Saia had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 16.63%. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Saia from $566.00 to $558.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Saia from $525.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.39.

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.