Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 801,400 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the August 15th total of 681,300 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 397,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.49. 203,944 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 417,954. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 0.77. Marten Transport has a 52 week low of $15.33 and a 52 week high of $21.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.69.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $246.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.11 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.74%. The firm’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Marten Transport will post 0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, COO Adam Daniel Phillips sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $82,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,596.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 33,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 3,365 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Marten Transport by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 780,794 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,381,000 after buying an additional 27,507 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,839,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $122,524,000 after purchasing an additional 27,091 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,406,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,506,000 after buying an additional 451,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at $9,997,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRTN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

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.