Nuance Investments LLC Acquires 2,040,631 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in Marten Transport by 63.8%, acquiring an additional 2,040,631 shares during the first quarter, now holding over 5.2 million shares.
• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Marten Transport's rating from "hold" to "sell", indicating a bearish outlook for the stock.
• For its latest quarter, Marten Transport reported earnings of $0.09 EPS, matching analyst expectations, but revenue decreased by 6.6% year-over-year.

Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 63.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,237,442 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,040,631 shares during the period. Marten Transport accounts for about 4.7% of Nuance Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 6.43% of Marten Transport worth $71,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Marten Transport during the first quarter worth $8,133,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Marten Transport by 644.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,664 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,507,000 after purchasing an additional 194,481 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Marten Transport by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 432,775 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 169,057 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Marten Transport by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 300,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,116,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Marten Transport in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,803,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Marten Transport Price Performance

NASDAQ MRTN opened at $11.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $944.47 million, a P/E ratio of 44.58 and a beta of 0.98. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12 month low of $11.57 and a 12 month high of $18.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.95 and a 200-day moving average of $13.56.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $0.09 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $229.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. Marten Transport's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

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.

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