Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Purchases 221,851 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Marten Transport by 47.1%, buying 221,851 shares to hold 693,270 shares (about 0.85% of the company) valued at roughly $7.89 million at quarter end.
• Marten Transport posted a quarterly EPS of $0.05 (beating estimates of $0.03) and revenue of $210.11M (vs. $207.22M expected) despite revenue being down 8.8% year-over-year; the stock trades near $13.96 with a market cap of about $1.14B and a P/E of 63.46.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.06 (annualized $0.24, yield ~1.7%) but has a high payout ratio (~109%), while analyst coverage is mixed (one Strong Buy, three Holds) with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and institutional ownership around 69%.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 47.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 693,270 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 221,851 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.85% of Marten Transport worth $7,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Marten Transport by 660.8% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Marten Transport during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Marten Transport during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Marten Transport by 378.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,610 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Marten Transport by 131.3% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $13.96 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.46 and a beta of 0.82. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $9.35 and a 1-year high of $15.42.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $210.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.22 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.97%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Marten Transport's payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Marten Transport from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Stephens lowered Marten Transport from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Marten Transport from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Marten Transport to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Marten Transport from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Marten Transport Profile

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.