Marten Transport, Ltd. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.06 (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 24th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of 0.06 per share by the transportation company on Monday, December 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th.

Marten Transport has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Marten Transport has a payout ratio of 46.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Marten Transport to earn $0.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.8%.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN stock opened at $9.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.90 million, a PE ratio of 40.83 and a beta of 0.94. Marten Transport has a 52 week low of $9.35 and a 52 week high of $17.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.37 and its 200-day moving average is $11.90.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.52% and a net margin of 2.14%.The company had revenue of $194.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.38 million. Marten Transport’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Marten Transport during the third quarter worth $109,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Marten Transport during the third quarter worth about $706,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $503,000. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter valued at $433,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.