Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Purchases New Position in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. invested approximately $3.22 million in Marten Transport, acquiring a total of 234,424 shares, making up 0.29% of the company's stock.
• Marten Transport's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.09, meeting estimates, but revenue dropped 6.6% year-over-year to $229.92 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, with an annualized yield of **2.1%**, scheduled to be paid on September 30th.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 234,424 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,216,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Marten Transport at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRTN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $102,000 after buying an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 8,296.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,595 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 12,445 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 13,648 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 4th quarter worth $266,000. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.69. The stock had a trading volume of 890,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,165. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $11.43 and a 12-month high of $18.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $952.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.96 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.02.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.00.

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.