Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) versus FTAI Infrastructure (NASDAQ:FIP) Head-To-Head Contrast

FTAI Infrastructure (NASDAQ:FIP) and Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.4% of FTAI Infrastructure shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Marten Transport shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of FTAI Infrastructure shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.6% of Marten Transport shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for FTAI Infrastructure and Marten Transport, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FTAI Infrastructure	1	0	3	0	2.50
Marten Transport	0	3	0	1	2.50

FTAI Infrastructure presently has a consensus target price of $9.94, suggesting a potential upside of 194.88%. Marten Transport has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.99%. Given FTAI Infrastructure’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe FTAI Infrastructure is more favorable than Marten Transport.

Volatility & Risk

FTAI Infrastructure has a beta of 1.79, suggesting that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marten Transport has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

FTAI Infrastructure pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marten Transport pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. FTAI Infrastructure pays out -2.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Marten Transport pays out 141.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. FTAI Infrastructure is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares FTAI Infrastructure and Marten Transport’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FTAI Infrastructure	-74.10%	-147.01%	-8.63%
Marten Transport	1.47%	1.65%	1.32%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FTAI Infrastructure and Marten Transport”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FTAI Infrastructure	$502.52 million	0.79	-$107.17 million	($5.19)	-0.65
Marten Transport	$883.65 million	1.31	$17.44 million	$0.17	83.29

Marten Transport has higher revenue and earnings than FTAI Infrastructure. FTAI Infrastructure is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marten Transport, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Marten Transport beats FTAI Infrastructure on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FTAI Infrastructure

FTAI Infrastructure Inc. focuses on acquiring, developing, and operating assets and businesses that represent infrastructure for customers in the transportation, energy, and industrial products industries in North America. The company operates through five segments: Railroad, Jefferson Terminal, Repauno, Power and Gas, and Sustainability and Energy Transition. It operates a multi-modal crude oil and refined products terminal, and other related assets. The company also has a 1,630-acre deep-water port located along the Delaware River with an underground storage cavern, a multipurpose dock, a rail-to-ship transloading system, and multiple industrial development opportunities; and a 1,660-acre multi-modal port located along the Ohio River with rail, dock, and multiple industrial development opportunities, including a power plant under construction. In addition, it operates six freight railroads and one switching facility. FTAI Infrastructure Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

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. The Dedicated segment offers customized transportation solutions for individual customers' requirements using temperature-controlled trailers, dry vans, and other specialized equipment. The Intermodal segment transports customers' freight utilizing its refrigerated containers and temperature-controlled trailers on railroad flatcars for portions of trips, as well as using tractors and contracted carriers. The Brokerage segment develops contractual relationships with and arranges for third-party carriers to transport freight for customers in temperature-controlled trailers and dry vans. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 3,349 tractors, that included 3,255 company-owned tractors and 94 tractors supplied by independent contractors. Marten Transport, Ltd. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin.