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

Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,014 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 140.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,498 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 79,689 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 5.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,148 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 22.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,421 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 10,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.88 per share, with a total value of $257,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,272,598.72. This represents a 12.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Marten Transport Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of MRTN stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.08. 373,327 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 392,373. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.61 and its 200 day moving average is $15.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47 and a beta of 1.01. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $12.52 and a 1 year high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 3.52%. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Marten Transport's payout ratio is 88.89%.

About Marten Transport

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.