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

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $13.23 and last traded at $13.28, with a volume of 74596 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Marten Transport Trading Down 5.7 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 70.59%.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marten Transport during the third quarter worth approximately $181,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 940,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,646,000 after buying an additional 38,990 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 5.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 11,883 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Marten Transport by 120.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 138,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 75,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. 69.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.