Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $223.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.10 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 1.89%.

Marten Transport Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.90. The stock had a trading volume of 970,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,387. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 88.95 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.72. Marten Transport has a 1 year low of $9.35 and a 1 year high of $18.48.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRTN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Marten Transport to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Marten Transport to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 489,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,569,000 after purchasing an additional 72,262 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,650 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Twinbeech Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 16,534 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 29,823 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 12,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

About Marten Transport

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.