Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MRTN. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Marten Transport stock opened at $12.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 55.91 and a beta of 0.87. Marten Transport has a one year low of $9.35 and a one year high of $15.72.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $210.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.22 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 2.27%. Marten Transport’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 6,122,415 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,265,000 after buying an additional 376,487 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,241,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,217,000 after acquiring an additional 32,843 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $43,584,000 after purchasing an additional 199,690 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 6.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,220,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,672,000 after purchasing an additional 133,262 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marten Transport by 1.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,461,908 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,991,000 after purchasing an additional 15,016 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.