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 the month of 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 trading volume of 416,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marten Transport

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 3,196,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,902,000 after purchasing an additional 569,700 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Marten Transport by 3,788.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 263,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 256,651 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Marten Transport by 644.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 224,664 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,507,000 after buying an additional 194,481 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Marten Transport by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 875,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,663,000 after acquiring an additional 189,996 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marten Transport by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 303,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,732,000 after buying an additional 185,700 shares during the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marten Transport Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRTN traded up $0.05 during trading hours 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50 and a beta of 0.84. Marten Transport has a 12 month low of $13.52 and a 12 month high of $19.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.14.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Marten Transport will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.75%. Marten Transport’s dividend payout ratio 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.