Radius Recycling, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:RDUS) investors are due to receive a payment of $0.1875 per share on 18th of February. The dividend yield will be 6.8% based on this payment which is still above the industry average.

While the dividend yield is important for income investors, it is also important to consider any large share price moves, as this will generally outweigh any gains from distributions. Radius Recycling's stock price has reduced by 41% in the last 3 months, which is not ideal for investors and can explain a sharp increase in the dividend yield.

See our latest analysis for Radius Recycling

Radius Recycling Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

A big dividend yield for a few years doesn't mean much if it can't be sustained. Even in the absence of profits, Radius Recycling is paying a dividend. The company is also yet to generate cash flow, so the dividend sustainability is definitely questionable.

Looking forward, earnings per share could 47.2% over the next year if the trend of the last few years can't be broken. This will push the company into unprofitability, which means the managers will have to choose between suspending the dividend, or paying it out of cash reserves.

Radius Recycling Has A Solid Track Record

Even over a long history of paying dividends, the company's distributions have been remarkably stable. The payments haven't really changed that much since 10 years ago. While the consistency in the dividend payments is impressive, we think the relatively slow rate of growth is less attractive.

Dividend Growth Potential Is Shaky

Some investors will be chomping at the bit to buy some of the company's stock based on its dividend history. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Radius Recycling's earnings per share has shrunk at 47% a year over the past five years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in.

Radius Recycling's Dividend Doesn't Look Sustainable

In summary, while it's good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we are a bit cautious about Radius Recycling's payments, as there could be some issues with sustaining them into the future. In the past the payments have been stable, but we think the company is paying out too much for this to continue for the long term. We would probably look elsewhere for an income investment.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Just as an example, we've come across 5 warning signs for Radius Recycling you should be aware of, and 3 of them are significant. 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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