Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.12 Million Stake in Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAIA) by 36.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,465 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Saia were worth $6,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Claret Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Saia during the first quarter worth approximately $231,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Saia by 49.8% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Saia during the first quarter worth approximately $155,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Saia by 5.7% during the first quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Saia during the first quarter worth approximately $255,000.

Insider Transactions at Saia

In related news, Director John P. Gainor, Jr. bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $407.00 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 900 shares in the company, valued at $366,300. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Saia Stock Performance

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Saia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $526.00 to $475.00 in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Saia from $610.00 to $550.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com lowered Saia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Saia from $676.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Saia from $618.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.