Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Short Interest Up 20.4% in February

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 971,500 shares, an increase of 20.4% from the February 13th total of 807,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 416,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens raised their price target on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MRTN traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 849,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,211. Marten Transport has a 1-year low of $13.52 and a 1-year high of $19.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.15.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. Research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Marten Transport by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,049 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 24,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,148 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Company Profile

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.