Empirical Capital Management LLC Has $2.74 Million Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• Empirical Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Marten Transport by 33.3%, holding 200,000 shares valued at approximately $2.74 million, which constitutes about 1.9% of its total assets.
• Marten Transport recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 92.31%.
• Despite a decrease in quarterly revenue of 6.6% year-over-year, Marten Transport reported earnings of $0.09 per share, aligning with consensus estimates.

Empirical Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,000 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Marten Transport accounts for approximately 1.9% of Empirical Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Empirical Capital Management LLC owned 0.25% of Marten Transport worth $2,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Marten Transport by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,428 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Marten Transport during the 1st quarter valued at $158,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Marten Transport by 8,296.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,595 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Marten Transport by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 13,648 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN opened at $11.74 on Monday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $12.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.11. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $11.43 and a twelve month high of $18.63. The firm has a market cap of $957.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15 and a beta of 0.99.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.09. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 2.72%. The business had revenue of $229.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

Marten Transport 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.

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