Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,032,909 shares, an increase of 20.9% from the February 12th total of 1,681,018 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 590,990 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 590,990 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

MRTN traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.69. The stock had a trading volume of 515,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 828,100. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $953.23 million, a P/E ratio of 53.14 and a beta of 0.84. Marten Transport has a 52 week low of $9.35 and a 52 week high of $15.42.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $210.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Marten Transport will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRTN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marten Transport in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Marten Transport from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marten Transport presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRTN. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Marten Transport by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 121,536 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 7.3% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,855 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 1.7% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 76,690 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 3.4% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 48,628 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 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, 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.