Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (NASDAQ:FTAI) will pay a dividend of $0.33 on the 29th of August. Based on this payment, the dividend yield on the company's stock will be 5.7%, which is an attractive boost to shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors

Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors Might Find It Hard To Continue The Dividend

We like to see robust dividend yields, but that doesn't matter if the payment isn't sustainable. Despite not generating a profit, Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors is still paying a dividend. Along with this, it is also not generating free cash flows, which raises concerns about the sustainability of the dividend.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 68.2%. This is the right direction to be moving, but it is not enough to achieve profitability. Unfortunately, for the dividend to continue at current levels the company definitely needs to get there sooner rather than later.

Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors Doesn't Have A Long Payment History

Even though the company has been paying a consistent dividend for a while, we would like to see a few more years before we feel comfortable relying on it. The payments haven't really changed that much since 7 years ago. Modest dividend growth is good to see, especially with the payments being relatively stable. However, the payment history is relatively short and we wouldn't want to rely on this dividend too much.

The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential

Investors could be attracted to the stock based on the quality of its payment history. Let's not jump to conclusions as things might not be as good as they appear on the surface. Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors' EPS has fallen by approximately 53% per year during the past five years. Dividend payments are likely to come under some pressure unless EPS can pull out of the nosedive it is in. However, the next year is actually looking up, with earnings set to rise. We would just wait until it becomes a pattern before getting too excited.

An additional note is that the company has been raising capital by issuing stock equal to 16% of shares outstanding in the last 12 months. Trying to grow the dividend when issuing new shares reminds us of the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus - perpetually pushing a boulder uphill. Companies that consistently issue new shares are often suboptimal from a dividend perspective.

Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors' Dividend Doesn't Look Great

In summary, while it is good to see that the dividend hasn't been cut, we think that at current levels the payment isn't particularly sustainable. The company seems to be stretching itself a bit to make such big payments, but it doesn't appear they can be consistent over time. We don't think that this is a great candidate to be an income stock.