Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Short Interest Up 20.4% in February

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 971,500 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the February 13th total of 807,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 416,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 602,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,080. Marten Transport has a 1-year low of $13.52 and a 1-year high of $19.26. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.29 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.15.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is 70.59%.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 126,150 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after acquiring an additional 185,700 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 140.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 79,689 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 940,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,646,000 after acquiring an additional 38,990 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 138,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 75,721 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.