Semanteon Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 29,551 Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 29,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 1,997.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Marten Transport in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 36.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 26.3% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 3,079 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.94. 559,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 475,895. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 0.79. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a one year low of $15.33 and a one year high of $23.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.91.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12. The business had revenue of $249.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.77 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 5.31%. Marten Transport’s quarterly revenue was down 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is 33.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRTN. Stephens dropped their price target on Marten Transport from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Vertical Research raised Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th.

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.