Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The transportation company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.72% and a net margin of 2.27%.The business had revenue of $220.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. Marten Transport’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marten Transport Price Performance

MRTN stock opened at $10.69 on Friday. Marten Transport has a 1 year low of $10.35 and a 1 year high of $18.63. The company has a market cap of $871.45 million, a P/E ratio of 41.12 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.41.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRTN. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Marten Transport by 378.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter worth $96,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 1st quarter worth $158,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Marten Transport in the 2nd quarter worth $189,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Marten Transport by 12.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.