Dark Forest Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 20,014 Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,014 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,902,000 after purchasing an additional 569,700 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 3,788.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,112,000 after buying an additional 256,651 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Marten Transport by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 875,304 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $13,663,000 after acquiring an additional 189,996 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Marten Transport by 158.0% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,732,000 after acquiring an additional 185,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,146,000 after acquiring an additional 175,059 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Marten Transport stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $13.08. The stock had a trading volume of 373,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,149. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $13.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.23. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $12.52 and a twelve month high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.79 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.88 per share, with a total value of $257,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 176,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,272,598.72. This represents a 12.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.