Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.58 and traded as high as $18.25. Marten Transport shares last traded at $17.77, with a volume of 645,967 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens cut Marten Transport from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Marten Transport to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marten Transport from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Marten Transport from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marten Transport currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.32 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.89 and its 200 day moving average is $13.67.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $203.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.20 million. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 1.89% and a net margin of 1.68%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Marten Transport’s payout ratio is presently 126.32%.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 557,096 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,315,000 after buying an additional 183,349 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport during the 1st quarter worth about $342,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 61,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 17,801 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia boosted its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 889,273 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,676,000 after buying an additional 48,697 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 676,584 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,884,000 after purchasing an additional 50,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company’s stock.

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.