Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shares reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $14.96 and last traded at $15.00, with a volume of 31291 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRTN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens lifted their price target on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Stock Down 3.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $16.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.77.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. As a group, analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Marten Transport by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 24,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Company 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.