Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Stock Price Down 2.9% - Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 2.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.01 and last traded at $16.02. Approximately 33,892 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 432,884 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRTN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Marten Transport Stock Down 3.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.53 and a 200 day moving average of $16.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.07 and a beta of 0.83.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.00 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In other news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,379.64. The trade was a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,831,191 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $107,585,000 after purchasing an additional 14,660 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,231,604 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $57,199,000 after acquiring an additional 15,388 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 303,132 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 14,088 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 14,951 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.