How Does Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A (NYSE:BLX) Fare As A Dividend Stock?

Could Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A (NYSE:BLX) be an attractive dividend share to own for the long haul? Investors are often drawn to strong companies with the idea of reinvesting the dividends. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments.

With Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior yielding 6.1% and having paid a dividend for over 10 years, many investors likely find the company quite interesting. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. When buying stocks for their dividends, you should always run through the checks below, to see if the dividend looks sustainable.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior!

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 64% of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. This is a fairly normal payout ratio among most businesses. It allows a higher dividend to be paid to shareholders, but does limit the capital retained in the business - which could be good or bad.

Consider getting our latest analysis on Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior's financial position here.

Dividend Volatility

From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. This dividend has been unstable, which we define as having been cut one or more times over this time. During the past 10-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.6 in 2011, compared to US$1.0 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 5.2% a year over that time. The dividends haven't grown at precisely 5.2% every year, but this is a useful way to average out the historical rate of growth.

It's good to see the dividend growing at a decent rate, but the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior might have put its house in order since then, but we remain cautious.

Dividend Growth Potential

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. In the last five years, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior's earnings per share have shrunk at approximately 9.4% per annum. If earnings continue to decline, the dividend may come under pressure. Every investor should make an assessment of whether the company is taking steps to stabilise the situation.

Conclusion

When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior's payout ratio is within normal bounds. Earnings per share are down, and Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior's dividend has been cut at least once in the past, which is disappointing. To conclude, we've spotted a couple of potential concerns with Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior that may make it less than ideal candidate for dividend investors.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. To that end, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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