Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Stock Price Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s share price dropped 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.01 and last traded at $16.02. Approximately 33,892 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 432,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRTN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Marten Transport Stock Down 3.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.53 and a 200 day moving average of $16.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.07 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 company had revenue of $237.37 million during 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 expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,831,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,585,000 after purchasing an additional 14,660 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,231,604 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,199,000 after acquiring an additional 15,388 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 2,627,111 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,500,000 after acquiring an additional 303,132 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Marten Transport by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,339,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,088 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,410,882 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,977,000 after purchasing an additional 14,951 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Company Profile

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.