Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Robert W. Baird

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Marten Transport from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Marten Transport Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Marten Transport stock opened at $13.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 62.59 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.96 and a 200-day moving average of $11.67. Marten Transport has a 1-year low of $9.35 and a 1-year high of $15.42.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $210.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.22 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 2.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 118.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 77,209 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 41,856 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 489,394 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,569,000 after buying an additional 72,262 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 84.8% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,650 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares during the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP boosted its position in Marten Transport by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 16,534 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.