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

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.27 and last traded at $15.31, with a volume of 22770 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Marten Transport Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33 and a beta of 0.83.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.00 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 126,150 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marten Transport by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,410,882 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,977,000 after acquiring an additional 14,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Marten Transport by 140.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 79,689 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by 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.