Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.42 and last traded at $13.7240, with a volume of 446328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRTN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.48.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $210.11 million for 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

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