Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) and FTAI Infrastructure (NASDAQ:FIP) Head-To-Head Survey

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) and FTAI Infrastructure (NASDAQ:FIP) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Marten Transport and FTAI Infrastructure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marten Transport	1.47%	1.65%	1.32%
FTAI Infrastructure	-74.10%	-147.01%	-8.63%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Marten Transport and FTAI Infrastructure, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marten Transport	0	3	0	1	2.50
FTAI Infrastructure	1	0	3	0	2.50

Marten Transport currently has a consensus price target of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.99%. FTAI Infrastructure has a consensus price target of $9.94, indicating a potential upside of 194.88%. Given FTAI Infrastructure’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe FTAI Infrastructure is more favorable than Marten Transport.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Marten Transport and FTAI Infrastructure”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marten Transport	$883.65 million	1.31	$17.44 million	$0.17	83.29
FTAI Infrastructure	$502.52 million	0.79	-$107.17 million	($5.19)	-0.65

Marten Transport has higher revenue and earnings than FTAI Infrastructure. FTAI Infrastructure is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marten Transport, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Marten Transport pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. FTAI Infrastructure pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marten Transport pays out 141.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. FTAI Infrastructure pays out -2.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FTAI Infrastructure is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.1% of Marten Transport shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.4% of FTAI Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.6% of Marten Transport shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of FTAI Infrastructure shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Marten Transport has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FTAI Infrastructure has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Marten Transport beats FTAI Infrastructure on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Dedicated segment offers customized transportation solutions for individual customers' requirements using temperature-controlled trailers, dry vans, and other specialized equipment. The Intermodal segment transports customers' freight utilizing its refrigerated containers and temperature-controlled trailers on railroad flatcars for portions of trips, as well as using tractors and contracted carriers. The Brokerage segment develops contractual relationships with and arranges for third-party carriers to transport freight for customers in temperature-controlled trailers and dry vans. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 3,349 tractors, that included 3,255 company-owned tractors and 94 tractors supplied by independent contractors. Marten Transport, Ltd. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin.

About FTAI Infrastructure

FTAI Infrastructure Inc. focuses on acquiring, developing, and operating assets and businesses that represent infrastructure for customers in the transportation, energy, and industrial products industries in North America. The company operates through five segments: Railroad, Jefferson Terminal, Repauno, Power and Gas, and Sustainability and Energy Transition. It operates a multi-modal crude oil and refined products terminal, and other related assets. The company also has a 1,630-acre deep-water port located along the Delaware River with an underground storage cavern, a multipurpose dock, a rail-to-ship transloading system, and multiple industrial development opportunities; and a 1,660-acre multi-modal port located along the Ohio River with rail, dock, and multiple industrial development opportunities, including a power plant under construction. In addition, it operates six freight railroads and one switching facility. FTAI Infrastructure Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.