At US$17.99, Is Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Worth Looking At Closely?

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN), is not the largest company out there, but it saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NASDAQGS. As a small cap stock, which tends to lack high analyst coverage, there is generally more of an opportunity for mispricing as there is less activity to push the stock closer to fair value. Is there still an opportunity here to buy? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Marten Transport’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

Check out our latest analysis for Marten Transport

What's the opportunity in Marten Transport?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 17.49x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 15.38x, which means if you buy Marten Transport today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe that Marten Transport should be trading at this level in the long run, then there should only be a fairly immaterial downside vs other industry peers. Furthermore, Marten Transport’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This may mean it is less likely for the stock to fall lower from natural market volatility, which suggests less opportunities to buy moving forward.

Can we expect growth from Marten Transport?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Marten Transport's earnings growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. This should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in MRTN’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at MRTN? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on MRTN, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for MRTN, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Since timing is quite important when it comes to individual stock picking, it's worth taking a look at what those latest analysts forecasts are. Luckily, you can check out what analysts are forecasting by clicking here.

If you are no longer interested in Marten Transport, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.