Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MRTN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Marten Transport Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $12.30 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.91 and a beta of 0.87. Marten Transport has a 52-week low of $9.35 and a 52-week high of $15.72.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $210.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.22 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.97%.Marten Transport’s revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 128.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 921,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,827,000 after acquiring an additional 518,280 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in Marten Transport by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 5,745,928 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $74,640,000 after purchasing an additional 508,486 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 2,296.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 444,309 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,736,000 after purchasing an additional 425,767 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 589,469 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,284,000 after buying an additional 284,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 1,527.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 237,125 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after buying an additional 222,555 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.