Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $16.73

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.73 and last traded at $16.75, with a volume of 19033 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Vertical Research upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th.

Marten Transport Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.79. The business's 50-day moving average is $18.58 and its 200-day moving average is $19.05.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The transportation company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $268.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.62 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company's revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 EPS.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marten Transport's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRTN. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,788 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 146,896 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 61,852 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,982 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Marten Transport by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,867 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.12% of the company's stock.

About Marten Transport

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.