Optimize Financial Inc Purchases New Stake in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 485 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SAIA. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Saia from $540.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Saia in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Saia from $557.00 to $422.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Saia from $540.00 to $455.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $486.83.

Insider Activity

In other Saia news, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total value of $394,498.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,260,482.46. This represents a 8.47 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,500. The trade was a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,493 shares of company stock worth $4,646,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Stock Performance

Saia stock opened at $330.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Saia, Inc. has a 12-month low of $287.50 and a 12-month high of $624.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $396.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $456.60.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The transportation company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.87 by ($0.03). Saia had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $794.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Saia’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Saia, Inc. will post 15.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.