Quantbot Technologies LP Raises Stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. $MRTN

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 1,004.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,970 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Marten Transport by 131.3% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Marten Transport by 378.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

Marten Transport Trading Down 5.9%

Shares of MRTN opened at $12.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.58. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a 12-month low of $9.35 and a 12-month high of $15.42.

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

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MRTN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Marten Transport currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

About Marten Transport

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.