Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Separately, Stephens lifted their price objective on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Marten Transport stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.27. The company had a trading volume of 531,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,079. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03 and a beta of 1.04. Marten Transport has a 12-month low of $12.52 and a 12-month high of $19.26.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05. The business had revenue of $223.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $228.79 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. As a group, research analysts expect that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In other Marten Transport news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 176,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,598.72. This represents a 12.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRTN. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the first quarter valued at approximately $158,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Marten Transport by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,496 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Marten Transport in the first quarter worth $3,216,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 18.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 61,335 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 9,654 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Marten Transport by 12.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,028 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the period. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.