Forest Hill Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Forest Hill Capital LLC increased its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 117.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 75,716 shares during the quarter. Marten Transport comprises about 1.7% of Forest Hill Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Forest Hill Capital LLC owned 0.17% of Marten Transport worth $2,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marten Transport in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Marten Transport during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Marten Transport during the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the fourth quarter worth $157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,272,598.72. This trade represents a 12.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $13.12 on Friday. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $12.52 and a fifty-two week high of $19.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 1.04.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.79 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 88.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Profile

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.