Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 971,500 shares, a growth 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 currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRTN. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marten Transport during the 4th quarter valued at about $266,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 96,634 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after buying an additional 13,957 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Marten Transport by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,769 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 15,188 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Marten Transport by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 424,116 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,620,000 after purchasing an additional 37,100 shares during the period. Finally, Shay Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the fourth quarter worth $347,000. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRTN traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,681. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.14. Marten Transport has a fifty-two week low of $13.52 and a fifty-two week high of $19.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.59%.

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.