Marten Transport (MRTN) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Marten Transport, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTN) is a publicly traded transportation and logistics company specializing in temperature-sensitive freight. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, Marten Transport began as a small regional refrigerated carrier and has grown into one of North America’s leading providers of temperature-controlled transportation services. The company’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol MRTN.

The company’s core business centers on refrigerated truckload services, offering dry, frozen and humidity-controlled shipments for customers in industries such as food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. In addition to its company-owned fleet of modern tractors and trailers, Marten provides brokerage services that connect shippers and carriers, as well as dedicated contract carriage and intermodal solutions. Marten’s equipment leasing business supports customer fleets through a variety of lease and rental programs.

Marten Transport operates across the contiguous United States and in Canada, leveraging a network of service centers, cross-docks and third-party warehouses to support route optimization and expedited delivery. The company has invested in advanced telematics and refrigerated trailer monitoring systems, allowing real-time temperature and location tracking to ensure shipment integrity. Marten’s scale and geographic reach enable it to serve both national accounts and regional shippers.

The company is led by Executive Chairman John C. Marten, a member of the founding family, and President and CEO Steven A. Ss, who oversee a management team focused on safety, regulatory compliance and customer service excellence. Through investments in driver training, fuel-efficient equipment and technology platforms, Marten Transport continues to reinforce its reputation for reliability and quality in the temperature-controlled logistics market.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $13.66 to $13.85
• 50-Day Range: $12.69 to $13.95
• 52-Week Range: $12.52 to $19.26
• Volume: 491,719 shs
• Average Volume: 416,537 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.12 billion
• P/E Ratio: 50.74
• Dividend Yield: 1.75%
• Price Target: $19.00
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Marten Transport Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Marten Transport scored higher than 88% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 25th out of 126 stocks in the transportation sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Marten Transport has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 1 buy rating, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Marten Transport has received no research coverage in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 73.17%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Marten Transport are expected to grow by 73.17% in the coming year, from $0.41 to $0.71 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Marten Transport is 50.74, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 25.85.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Marten Transport is 50.74, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Transportation sector average P/E ratio of about 13.23.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Marten Transport has a P/B Ratio of 1.45. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.52% of the float of Marten Transport has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Marten Transport has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.7, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Marten Transport has recently decreased by 2.56%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

Marten Transport pays a meaningful dividend of 1.75%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Marten Transport does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Marten Transport is 88.89%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Marten Transport will have a dividend payout ratio of 33.80% next year. This indicates that Marten Transport will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.52% of the float of Marten Transport has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Marten Transport has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.7, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Marten Transport has recently decreased by 2.56%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.14

News Sentiment

Marten Transport has a news sentiment score of 1.14. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.75 average news sentiment score of Transportation companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 3 news articles for Marten Transport this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Marten Transport insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $257,600.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

22.90% of the stock of Marten Transport is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

69.12% of the stock of Marten Transport is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

MRTN Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have MRTN shares performed this year?

Marten Transport's stock was trading at $15.61 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, MRTN shares have decreased by 12.2% and is now trading at $13.70.

How were Marten Transport's earnings last quarter?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April, 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. The transportation company earned $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a net margin of 2.31% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 2.82%.

When did Marten Transport's stock split?

Marten Transport shares split on the morning of Friday, August 14th 2020.The 3-2 split was announced on Thursday, July 16th 2020. The newly minted shares were payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, August 13th 2020. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 150 shares after the split.

Who are Marten Transport's major shareholders?

Marten Transport's top institutional investors include Confluence Investment Management LLC (0.17%) and Parallel Advisors LLC (0.01%). Insiders that own company stock include Larry B Hagness, Jerry M Bauer, Thomas J Winkel, Douglas Paul Petit and Adam Daniel Phillips.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Marten Transport?

Shares of MRTN stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Marten Transport own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Marten Transport investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AU Optronics (AUOTY), Humana (HUM) and iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 4/16/2025
• Record date for 6/27 Dividend: 6/13/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/27 Dividend: 6/13/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/27/2025
• Today: 7/12/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/17/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Transportation
• Industry: TRANS - TRUCK
• Sub-Industry: Trucking
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:MRTN
• CIK: 799167
• Web: www.marten.com
• Phone: (715) 926-4216
• Fax: 715-926-4530
• Employees: 3,776
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Marten Transport: $19.00
• High Price Target: $19.00
• Low Price Target: $19.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +38.7%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 2 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $0.27
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 50.74
• Forward P/E Ratio: 33.41
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $26.92 million
• Net Margins: 2.31%
• Pretax Margin: 3.15%
• Return on Equity: 2.82%
• Return on Assets: 2.18%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 1.48
• Quick Ratio: 1.48

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $963.71 million
• Price / Sales: 1.16
• Cash Flow: $1.70 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 8.05
• Book Value: $9.43 per share
• Price / Book: 1.45

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 81,490,000
• Free Float: 62,831,000
• Market Cap: $1.12 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.99