American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Marten Transport by 8.8% in Q1, holding approximately 2.41% of the company, valued at $26.9 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Marten Transport from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, with an average target price of $19.00 and a current rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Marten Transport declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, with a payout ratio of 92.31% and an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,961,073 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 158,028 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.41% of Marten Transport worth $26,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Marten Transport by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,447 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Marten Transport by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,388 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 4,091 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Marten Transport by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 430,913 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $6,727,000 after acquiring an additional 23,599 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Marten Transport in the fourth quarter worth about $878,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Marten Transport by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,327 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Marten Transport stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.72. 77,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 509,463. The company's fifty day moving average is $12.69 and its 200-day moving average is $13.30. The firm has a market cap of $955.50 million, a PE ratio of 45.18 and a beta of 0.98. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 52 week low of $11.57 and a 52 week high of $18.63.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marten Transport from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marten Transport presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Marten Transport Company 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.