Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $203.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.20 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.97%.

Marten Transport Trading Up 0.5%

MRTN stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.83. 975,540 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 832,472. Marten Transport has a one year low of $9.35 and a one year high of $15.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.41 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.99.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRTN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Stephens downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marten Transport from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Marten Transport from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Marten Transport to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 61,335 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 9,654 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 1st quarter valued at about $158,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marten Transport Company Profile

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.