Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $4.73 Million Stock Holdings in Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) by 158.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 303,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185,700 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Marten Transport were worth $4,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Marten Transport by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 154,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew 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 period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marten Transport by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Marten Transport by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. 69.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRTN. Stephens increased their price objective on Marten Transport from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James cut shares of Marten Transport from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Marten Transport Price Performance

Shares of MRTN opened at $15.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.29 and a beta of 0.83. Marten Transport, Ltd. has a one year low of $14.96 and a one year high of $20.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.83.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The transportation company reported $0.07 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marten Transport, Ltd. will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marten Transport Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Marten Transport’s 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.