Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's Why

Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRTN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.01.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $237.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.00 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.81 per share, with a total value of $158,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 13.0% in the third 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. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the second quarter worth about $5,334,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 13.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,402,776 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,881,000 after acquiring an additional 162,924 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,130,000 after acquiring an additional 126,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 140.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,498 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,416,000 after buying an additional 79,689 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.