Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Stephens reduced their price target on Marten Transport from $15.00 to $12.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.50.

Marten Transport Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $11.78 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.22. Marten Transport has a 12-month low of $9.35 and a 12-month high of $18.48. The company has a market cap of $961.95 million, a P/E ratio of 65.45 and a beta of 1.00.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $223.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.37 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 1.74% and a net margin of 1.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marten Transport will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 3.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,058,930 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $174,522,000 after buying an additional 298,912 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,893,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,250,000 after acquiring an additional 37,761 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 4.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,723,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,254,000 after acquiring an additional 126,055 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 889,273 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,676,000 after acquiring an additional 48,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 767,686 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,080,000 after acquiring an additional 74,416 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Marten Transport

Here are the key news stories impacting Marten Transport this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter net income increased 30.7% year over year to $2.9 million, or $0.04 per diluted share. Operating income rose 11.9% to $3.1 million, while operating expenses improved slightly to 98.6% of revenue from 98.8% a year earlier. Marten Transport Announces Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Freight trends showed some improvement: truckload revenue climbed 11.9% to $117.3 million, fuel-surcharge revenue rose to $39.0 million from $26.5 million, and dedicated and brokerage operations generated $67.2 million and $38.7 million, respectively. Marten Transport Q3 Net Income Rises 31% to $2.9 Million
• Neutral Sentiment: Marten Transport held $91.5 million in cash at September 30, providing financial flexibility, although nine-month net income declined to $9.6 million from $13.7 million and revenue fell to $650.3 million from $673.5 million. Marten Transport Q3 Net Income Rises 31% to $2.9 Million
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS of $0.04 missed the $0.06 consensus estimate, while revenue of $223.2 million fell short of the $230.4 million forecast. The results indicate that costs continue to limit the benefit of recovering freight rates. Marten Transport Misses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens lowered its price target from $15.00 to $12.50 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, signaling limited near-term upside. Zacks also added MRTN to its Rank #5 “Strong Sell” list. Stephens Stock Recommendations

Marten Transport Company Profile

Marten Transport, Inc is a transportation and logistics company headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin. Founded in 1946, the company began as a regional carrier and has developed into a provider of temperature-sensitive and dry freight transportation services.

The company’s operations include refrigerated and dry truck-based transportation, dedicated transportation, intermodal services, and brokerage. Marten Transport serves customers across a range of industries, including food and consumer products, using refrigerated trailers, dry vans, intermodal equipment, and related logistics capabilities.

Marten Transport primarily serves the contiguous United States and also provides transportation services involving Canada and Mexico.