Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 226,879 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 421,303 shares.The stock last traded at $15.34 and had previously closed at $15.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRTN. StockNews.com lowered Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James downgraded Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.01. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 0.83.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.02). Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $244.00 million. Analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,379.64. This represents a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRTN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,831,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,585,000 after acquiring an additional 14,660 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,231,604 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $57,199,000 after purchasing an additional 15,388 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 303,132 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 1.1% in 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 buying an additional 14,951 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is 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.