Marten Transport (MRTN) Competitors

ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) and Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility & risk, ARCB or MRTN?

ArcBest has a beta of 1.69, meaning that its stock price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marten Transport has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ARCB or MRTN?

99.3% of ArcBest shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Marten Transport shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of ArcBest shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.9% of Marten Transport shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ARCB or MRTN more profitable?

ArcBest has a net margin of 3.90% compared to Marten Transport's net margin of 2.27%. ArcBest's return on equity of 8.67% beat Marten Transport's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ArcBest	3.90%	8.67%	4.66%
Marten Transport	2.27%	2.72%	2.12%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, ARCB or MRTN?

ArcBest has higher revenue and earnings than Marten Transport. ArcBest is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marten Transport, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ArcBest	$4.05B	0.43	$173.96M	$6.72	11.49
Marten Transport	$920.87M	1.10	$26.92M	$0.26	47.79

Does the media refer more to ARCB or MRTN?

In the previous week, Marten Transport had 2 more articles in the media than ArcBest. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Marten Transport and 6 mentions for ArcBest. ArcBest's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Marten Transport's score of 0.54 indicating that ArcBest is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
ArcBest	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Marten Transport	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ARCB or MRTN a better dividend stock?

ArcBest pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Marten Transport pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. ArcBest pays out 7.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Marten Transport pays out 92.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Do analysts prefer ARCB or MRTN?

ArcBest presently has a consensus price target of $90.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.58%. Marten Transport has a consensus price target of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 52.92%. Given Marten Transport's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Marten Transport is more favorable than ArcBest.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ArcBest	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36
Marten Transport	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

ArcBest beats Marten Transport on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.