World Equity Group Inc. Invests $201,000 in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 442 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Saia in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,408,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE bought a new stake in Saia in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,324,000. Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Saia by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Saia by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Saia by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 59,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $524.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Saia from $561.00 to $544.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Saia from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Saia in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Saia from $492.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $535.12.

Saia Stock Performance

Shares of SAIA opened at $420.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $478.16 and its 200-day moving average is $467.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Saia, Inc. has a 12-month low of $358.90 and a 12-month high of $628.34.

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

Insider Transactions at Saia

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Batteh sold 700 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.09, for a total value of $350,063.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,663,299.34. This trade represents a 17.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kelly W. Benton sold 460 shares of Saia stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,500. This trade represents a 9.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,493 shares of company stock valued at $4,646,181 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.