Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) Stock

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Stephens from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.70% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marten Transport from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Marten Transport Stock Down 2.1 %

MRTN opened at $15.36 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.88. Marten Transport has a 52 week low of $14.96 and a 52 week high of $20.24. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57 and a beta of 0.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.01. Marten Transport had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 4.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the second quarter worth $28,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Marten Transport in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. KBC Group NV raised 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Marten Transport in the third quarter worth about $181,000. 69.12% of the stock is 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.