Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.42 and last traded at $13.7240, with a volume of 446328 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Sell”.

Marten Transport Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 62.95 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.47.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 2,083.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 660.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,544 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

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.