Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 144,210 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the previous session’s volume of 456,626 shares.The stock last traded at $16.56 and had previously closed at $15.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens cut their target price on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Vertical Research raised Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. The firm had revenue of $249.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.77 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 6.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Marten Transport during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 1,997.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 108.6% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.