Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Shares Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) traded down 2.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.01 and last traded at $16.02. 33,892 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 432,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Trading Down 2.7 %

The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 38.21 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.96.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $244.00 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. Equities analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of Marten Transport stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter worth $181,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter worth $216,000. 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.