Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $15.33 and last traded at $15.38, with a volume of 48839 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James lowered Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.95 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.18.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $244.00 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. As a group, research analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 10,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MRTN. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Marten Transport by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 182,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,361,000 after acquiring an additional 81,219 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,775,000 after purchasing an additional 41,505 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 222,269 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,101,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,124,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Marten Transport by 1,562.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 65,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 61,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Company Profile

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.