Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,799 Shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 36.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,465 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Saia were worth $6,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Saia by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 387 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Saia by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 221 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Saia by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Saia by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HMS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Saia by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 952 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter.

Saia Stock Down 1.3 %

SAIA stock traded down $5.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $464.33. 139,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $427.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $489.21. Saia, Inc. has a 1-year low of $331.23 and a 1-year high of $628.34.

Saia (NASDAQ:SAIA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The transportation company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.43 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $754.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.36 million. Saia had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 12.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Saia, Inc. will post 15.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Saia news, Director John P. Gainor, Jr. acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $407.00 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SAIA shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Saia from $473.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $526.00 to $475.00 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Saia from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Saia from $676.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Saia from $540.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $498.00.

Saia Company 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.