Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Marten Transport's P/E of 66.7 is above its own 5-year median of 23.3.

P/E above the industry

Marten Transport's P/E of 66.7 is above the Trucking and Courier Services, except Air median of 34.1.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Marten Transport's EV/EBITDA of 55.0 is above its 5-year median of 17.4.

P/B below the industry

Marten Transport's price-to-book of 1.28 is below the Trucking and Courier Services, except Air median of 1.83.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $12.01 is above our fair value estimate of $8.27.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 45.1% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -11.2% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew -46.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew -31.2% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -24.2% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew -4.8% over the last twelve months; the Trucking and Courier Services, except Air median is 7.6%.

Company guidance

No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.

Gross margin trend

This company does not report gross profit.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 1.7% over the last twelve months and averaged 9.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 1.7%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity below the industry

Marten Transport's return on equity of 1.7% is below the Trucking and Courier Services, except Air median of 3.4%.

Earnings shrank over 5 years

Net income shrank 24.2% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 1.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.7%.

Net margin below the industry

Marten Transport's net margin of 1.5% is below the Trucking and Courier Services, except Air median of 2.1%.

No debt

Marten Transport has no borrowings on its latest balance sheet.

Debt not rising

With no debt today, leverage cannot have risen.

Debt covered by cash flow

There is no debt to cover.

Interest well covered

No meaningful interest expense to cover.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 2.21 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 5.21; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Marten Transport paid dividends worth 2.0% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 2.0% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Marten Transport yields 2.0%.

Dividend was cut

The dividend per share fell by more than 10% at least once in the last 10 fiscal years.

Not covered by earnings

Dividends take 147% of net income, leaving little room.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.