Marten Transport (MRTN) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The Dedicated segment offers customized transportation solutions for individual customers' requirements using temperature-controlled trailers, dry vans, and other specialized equipment. The Intermodal segment transports customers' freight utilizing its refrigerated containers and temperature-controlled trailers on railroad flatcars for portions of trips, as well as using tractors and contracted carriers. The Brokerage segment develops contractual relationships with and arranges for third-party carriers to transport freight for customers in temperature-controlled trailers and dry vans. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 3,349 tractors, that included 3,255 company-owned tractors and 94 tractors supplied by independent contractors. Marten Transport, Ltd. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $16.61 to $16.86
• 50-Day Range: $15.48 to $18.26
• 52-Week Range: $15.33 to $21.38
• Volume: 55,445 shs
• Average Volume: 393,046 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.36 billion
• P/E Ratio: 39.67
• Dividend Yield: 1.44%
• Price Target: $20.00
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Marten Transport Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Marten Transport scored higher than 87% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 29th out of 129 stocks in the transportation sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Marten Transport has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.33, and is based on 1 buy rating, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Marten Transport has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 46.88%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Marten Transport are expected to grow by 46.88% in the coming year, from $0.32 to $0.47 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Marten Transport is 39.67, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 135.04.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Marten Transport is 39.67, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Transportation sector average P/E ratio of about 18.91.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Marten Transport has a P/B Ratio of 1.79. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.28% of the float of Marten Transport has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Marten Transport has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.3, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Marten Transport has recently decreased by 4.90%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Marten Transport pays a meaningful dividend of 1.39%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Marten Transport does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Marten Transport is 57.14%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Marten Transport will have a dividend payout ratio of 51.06% next year. This indicates that Marten Transport will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.28% of the float of Marten Transport has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Marten Transport has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.3, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Marten Transport has recently decreased by 4.90%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: N/A

News Sentiment

Marten Transport has a news sentiment score of 1.71. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.69 average news sentiment score of Transportation companies.

MarketBeat Follows

4 people have added Marten Transport to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Marten Transport insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $158,100.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

22.90% of the stock of Marten Transport is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

69.12% of the stock of Marten Transport is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

MRTN Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have MRTN shares performed this year?

Marten Transport's stock was trading at $20.98 at the start of the year. Since then, MRTN shares have decreased by 20.6% and is now trading at $16.66.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Marten Transport's earnings last quarter?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The transportation company earned $237.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244 million. Marten Transport had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%.

When did Marten Transport's stock split?

Shares of Marten Transport split on the morning of Friday, August 14th 2020. The 3-2 split was announced on Thursday, July 16th 2020. The newly minted shares were payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, August 13th 2020. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 150 shares after the split.

Who are Marten Transport's major shareholders?

Marten Transport's top institutional shareholders include Victory Capital Management Inc. (4.97%), Geneva Capital Management LLC (3.97%), Nuance Investments LLC (3.23%) and State Street Corp (2.87%). Insiders that own company stock include Larry B Hagness, Jerry M Bauer, Thomas J Winkel, Douglas Paul Petit, Adam Daniel Phillips, James J Hinnendael, John H Turner and Robert L Demorest.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Marten Transport?

Shares of MRTN stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Marten Transport own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Marten Transport investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AUO (AUOTY), Humana (HUM) and iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC).

Company Calendar

• Ex-Dividend for 9/30 Dividend: 9/16/2024
• Dividend Payable: 9/30/2024
• Last Earnings: 10/17/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 12/27 Dividend: 12/13/2024
• Today: 12/18/2024
• Dividend Payable: 12/27/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Transportation
• Industry: Trucking, except local
• Sub-Industry: Trucking
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:MRTN
• CUSIP: 57307510
• CIK: 799167
• Web: www.marten.com
• Phone: (715) 926-4216
• Fax: 715-926-4530
• Employees: 4,213
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $20.00
• High Stock Price Target: $21.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $19.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +19.7%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.33
• Research Coverage: 3 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $0.42
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 39.79
• Forward P/E Ratio: 52.22
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $70.37 million
• Net Margins: 3.36%
• Pretax Margin: 4.57%
• Return on Equity: 4.41%
• Return on Assets: 3.37%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 1.46
• Quick Ratio: 1.46

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.00 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.36
• Cash Flow: $2.21 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 7.55
• Book Value: $9.31 per share
• Price / Book: 1.79

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 81,448,000
• Free Float: 62,796,000
• Market Cap: $1.36 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.82