Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Price Target Raised to $19.00

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Stephens from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stephens’ target price indicates a potential upside of 19.96% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on MRTN. StockNews.com cut Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James cut Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of MRTN stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.84. The company had a trading volume of 129,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,705. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.90. Marten Transport has a one year low of $14.96 and a one year high of $20.24.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last released its 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 4.41% and a net margin of 3.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marten Transport will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marten Transport

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.81 per share, for a total transaction of $158,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,379.64. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,376 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marten Transport during the 3rd quarter worth about $181,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Marten Transport

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.