Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN Stock Position Lifted by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,267,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 144,925 shares during the period. Marten Transport accounts for 7.9% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Nuance Investments LLC owned 0.08% of Marten Transport worth $71,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRTN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 61,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 9,654 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 1st quarter valued at about $158,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MRTN opened at $17.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.18 and its 200 day moving average is $13.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 93.43 and a beta of 0.93. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $9.35 and a 12-month high of $18.00.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $203.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.20 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 1.89%. 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 business posted $0.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is presently 126.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRTN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Marten Transport from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Marten Transport from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Stephens downgraded Marten Transport from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Marten Transport to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Marten Transport 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.