Quarterhill's (TSE:QTRH) Dividend Will Be CA$0.013

The board of Quarterhill Inc. (TSE:QTRH) has announced that it will pay a dividend on the 8th of April, with investors receiving CA$0.013 per share. Based on this payment, the dividend yield will be 2.4%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Quarterhill

Quarterhill Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. Even though Quarterhill isn't generating a profit, it is generating healthy free cash flows that easily cover the dividend. This gives us some comfort about the level of the dividend payments.

Recent, EPS has fallen by 9.6%, so this could continue over the next year. This means that the company won't turn a profit over the next year, but with healthy cash flows at the moment the dividend could still be okay to continue.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. Since 2012, the first annual payment was CA$0.10, compared to the most recent full-year payment of CA$0.05. The dividend has shrunk at around 6.7% a year during that period. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for.

Dividend Growth Is Doubtful

Given that the track record hasn't been stellar, we really want to see earnings per share growing over time. Over the past five years, it looks as though Quarterhill's EPS has declined at around 9.6% a year. If earnings continue declining, the company may have to make the difficult choice of reducing the dividend or even stopping it completely - the opposite of dividend growth.

The Dividend Could Prove To Be Unreliable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Quarterhill's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. The payments haven't been particularly stable and we don't see huge growth potential, but with the dividend well covered by cash flows it could prove to be reliable over the short term. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Quarterhill (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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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.