Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $14.96 and last traded at $15.00, with a volume of 31291 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRTN shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Stock Down 3.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $16.07 and its 200-day moving average is $16.77.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. As a group, analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in Marten Transport by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,627,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,500,000 after buying an additional 303,132 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 3,788.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,112,000 after acquiring an additional 256,651 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 185,700 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,130,000 after purchasing an additional 126,150 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,024,117 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 83,686 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marten Transport

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.