Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $11.43 and traded as high as $13.35. Marten Transport shares last traded at $13.24, with a volume of 532,132 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MRTN shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.43. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $210.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.22 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 2.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 6,267,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,322,000 after buying an additional 144,925 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,241,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,217,000 after acquiring an additional 32,843 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 6.3% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,355,193 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,584,000 after acquiring an additional 199,690 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,442,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,793,000 after acquiring an additional 16,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,220,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,672,000 after acquiring an additional 133,262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Company Profile

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.