Wall Street Zen Downgrades Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) to Sell

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Wall Street Zen have downgraded Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Marten Transport reported $0.09 earnings per share, matching analyst expectations, but revenue decreased by 6.6% year-over-year.
• Approximately 69.12% of Marten Transport's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, with notable increases in stakes from firms like JPMorgan Chase and LPL Financial.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Marten Transport Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.59. The company had a trading volume of 754,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,521. Marten Transport has a 1-year low of $11.57 and a 1-year high of $18.63. The stock has a market cap of $944.47 million, a PE ratio of 44.58 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day moving average price is $12.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.59.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 2.72% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $229.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Marten Transport's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in Marten Transport by 9.7% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 5,745,928 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $74,640,000 after purchasing an additional 508,486 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,210,598 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $57,769,000 after buying an additional 14,680 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 1.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,135,484 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $56,739,000 after buying an additional 63,916 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 6.3% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,355,193 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,584,000 after buying an additional 199,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 8.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,961,073 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,906,000 after purchasing an additional 158,028 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.