Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,067 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Saia were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SAIA. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Saia by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Saia by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Saia by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Saia by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,707 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Saia by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frederick J. Holzgrefe III sold 7,534 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 29.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick D. Sugar sold 799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.74, for a total transaction of $394,498.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,629 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,482.46. This represents a 8.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SAIA opened at $353.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $452.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.89. 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 52-week low of $347.11 and a 52-week high of $624.55.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SAIA shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Saia from $544.00 to $498.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Saia from $550.00 to $510.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Saia from $560.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Saia from $456.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Saia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. One equities research 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $526.39.

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.