Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $13.23 and last traded at $13.28, with a volume of 74596 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens lifted their price target on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 1.01.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,902,000 after acquiring an additional 569,700 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 3,788.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 256,651 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 644.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,507,000 after buying an additional 194,481 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 875,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,663,000 after buying an additional 189,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Marten Transport by 158.0% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,732,000 after acquiring an additional 185,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

About Marten Transport

Marten Transport, Ltd. operates as a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier for shippers in the United State, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, and Brokerage. The Truckload segment transports food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment, as well as dry freight; and regional short-haul and medium-to-long-haul full-load transportation services.