Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Makes New $4.44 Million Investment in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 255,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,438,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter worth $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 3,553.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Marten Transport in the first quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 378.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marten Transport Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $14.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.14. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52-week low of $9.35 and a 52-week high of $18.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.01). Marten Transport had a return on equity of 1.65% and a net margin of 1.47%.The firm had revenue of $223.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. Marten Transport’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.27 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 141.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MRTN shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marten Transport currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

About Marten Transport

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.