Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Posts Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

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

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 $18.99. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 33.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marten Transport during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1,997.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 108.6% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the first quarter worth about $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRTN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Vertical Research upgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

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.