Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird upgraded Marten Transport to a "Strong-Buy", but analyst coverage is mixed—one Strong Buy, one Hold and one Sell leave a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold".
• Marten's latest quarter beat EPS ($0.05 vs. $0.03) and revenue ($210.11M vs. $207.22M), yet revenue was down 8.8% year‑over‑year and profitability remains slim (net margin ~1.97%, ROE 2.27%).
• The stock opened at $13.77 (up ~3%), carries a market cap of about $1.12B and a high PE (~62.6), with institutional investors owning roughly 69% of the shares.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MRTN. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Marten Transport from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Marten Transport Stock Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:MRTN opened at $13.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 62.59 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $12.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.67. Marten Transport has a 52 week low of $9.35 and a 52 week high of $15.42.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.02. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 2.27% and a net margin of 1.97%.The business had revenue of $210.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.07 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 2,083.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,555 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,438 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 660.8% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 3,553.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

Marten Transport Company Profile

Marten Transport, Inc is a North American transportation services provider offering temperature-controlled and dry van truckload services. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Mondovi, Wisconsin, the company specializes in full truckload, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal and port drayage solutions. Its core focus on refrigerated and produce freight has made it a key partner for food manufacturers, retailers and other shippers requiring strict temperature management.

The company maintains a modern fleet of tractors and trailers equipped with advanced telematics, electronic logging devices and continuous temperature monitoring.

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