Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 2,766,766 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 145% from the previous session’s volume of 1,131,514 shares.The stock last traded at $12.5150 and had previously closed at $12.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

Marten Transport Stock Down 2.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.33 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.47.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $194.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.38 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.52% and a net margin of 2.14%.The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 128.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 921,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,827,000 after purchasing an additional 518,280 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 508,486 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 425,767 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 284,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1,527.5% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 237,125 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 222,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

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.