Penn Capital Management Company LLC Purchases 48,944 Shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,250 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,944 shares during the quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Marten Transport worth $4,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRTN. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,071,568 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $63,557,000 after purchasing an additional 23,201 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,902,000 after buying an additional 569,700 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Marten Transport by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,803,045 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,146,000 after buying an additional 175,059 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,492,142 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $23,292,000 after acquiring an additional 31,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,410,882 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $24,977,000 after acquiring an additional 14,951 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens increased their price target on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MRTN traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.88. The company had a trading volume of 103,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,318. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89 and a beta of 1.01. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 1-year low of $12.38 and a 1-year high of $19.26. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.73 and its 200-day moving average is $15.34.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

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.