Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. Marten Transport had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 7.65%. The business had revenue of $246.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.26. The stock had a trading volume of 76,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,108. Marten Transport has a 52 week low of $15.33 and a 52 week high of $23.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 33.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRTN shares. Stephens decreased their target price on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Vertical Research downgraded Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Marten Transport in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Douglas Paul Petit sold 4,500 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.22, for a total value of $81,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 31,600 shares in the company, valued at $575,752. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.