Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Issues Earnings Results

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12, Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $249.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.77 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 7.68%. Marten Transport’s revenue was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS.

Marten Transport Stock Up 3.7 %

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $16.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.98. Marten Transport has a twelve month low of $15.33 and a twelve month high of $23.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 4,463.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 689,930 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,605,000 after buying an additional 674,813 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 50,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after acquiring an additional 383,910 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,430,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,875,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,370,000 after purchasing an additional 231,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 886,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,606,000 after purchasing an additional 214,292 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Vertical Research upgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th.

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.