ATN International's (NASDAQ:ATNI) Dividend Will Be US$0.17

ATN International, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNI) has announced that it will pay a dividend of US$0.17 per share on the 15th of April. Including this payment, the dividend yield on the stock will be 1.7%, which is a modest boost for shareholders' returns.

See our latest analysis for ATN International

ATN International Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

The dividend yield is a little bit low, but sustainability of the payments is also an important part of evaluating an income stock. Even in the absence of profits, ATN International is paying a dividend. Along with this, it is also not generating free cash flows, which raises concerns about the sustainability of the dividend.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 74.2% over the next year. While it is good to see income moving in the right direction, it still looks like the company won't achieve profitability. Unless this happens fairly soon, the dividend could start to come under pressure.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. Since 2012, the dividend has gone from US$0.88 to US$0.68. This works out to be a decline of approximately 2.5% per year over that time. Generally, we don't like to see a dividend that has been declining over time as this can degrade shareholders' returns and indicate that the company may be running into problems.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share is growing, which could point to a growing dividend in the future. Earnings per share has been sinking by 52% over the last five years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in. It's not all bad news though, as the earnings are predicted to rise over the next 12 months - we would just be a bit cautious until this becomes a long term trend.

ATN International's Dividend Doesn't Look Great

Overall, while some might be pleased that the dividend wasn't cut, we think this may help ATN International make more consistent payments in the future. The company's earnings aren't high enough to be making such big distributions, and it isn't backed up by strong growth or consistency either. Overall, this doesn't get us very excited from an income standpoint.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Taking the debate a bit further, we've identified 1 warning sign for ATN International that investors need to be conscious of moving forward. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

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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.