Hodges Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Marten Transport by 45.4%, now holding 165,500 shares worth approximately $2.27 million.
• Multiple institutional investors adjusted their positions in Marten Transport, with PNC Financial Services increasing its stake by 44.6% during the same period.
• Marten Transport recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06, set to be paid on September 30th, indicating a 2.0% yield.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 45.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,500 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 137,700 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Marten Transport worth $2,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 44.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,428 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 1st quarter worth approximately $158,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 8,296.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,595 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 12,445 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 13,648 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered 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, Marten Transport currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.00.

Marten Transport Price Performance

MRTN stock opened at $11.96 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.05. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12 month low of $11.43 and a 12 month high of $18.63. The company has a market cap of $974.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

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

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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