Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Issues Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12, Yahoo Finance reports. The firm had revenue of $249.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.77 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company’s revenue was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share.

Marten Transport Trading Down 1.2 %

Marten Transport stock opened at $15.97 on Friday. Marten Transport has a 1 year low of $15.87 and a 1 year high of $23.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.44 and a 200-day moving average of $19.01.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Vertical Research upgraded Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1,997.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 108.6% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 1st quarter valued at about $104,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

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.