Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $14.96 and last traded at $15.00, with a volume of 31291 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRTN. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Trading Up 3.0 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.97 and a 200-day moving average of $16.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.94 and a beta of 0.83.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 303,132 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 3,788.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 256,651 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 158.0% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 185,700 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,146,000 after purchasing an additional 175,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 22.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 685,308 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,130,000 after purchasing an additional 126,150 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.