Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Trading Down 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s stock price was down 4.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.73 and last traded at $15.63. Approximately 63,776 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 417,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRTN. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Trading Down 4.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.14 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.90.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 6.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.