Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Price Target Raised to $19.00 at Stephens

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) had its target price boosted by Stephens from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN opened at $15.69 on Tuesday. Marten Transport has a 12-month low of $14.96 and a 12-month high of $20.24. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.89.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marten Transport will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

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 $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the third quarter valued at $181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

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.