Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms Buy Rating for Serica Energy (LON:SQZ)

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their buy rating on shares of Serica Energy (LON:SQZ) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a GBX 225 ($2.86) target price on the stock.

Serica Energy Stock Performance

SQZ opened at GBX 181.40 ($2.31) on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 188.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 200.56. Serica Energy has a 1 year low of GBX 166 ($2.11) and a 1 year high of GBX 271.77 ($3.45). The company has a market capitalization of £706.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 671.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.79, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Serica Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a GBX 14 ($0.18) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 7.22%. This is an increase from Serica Energy’s previous dividend of $9.00. Serica Energy’s payout ratio is currently 8,518.52%.

Insider Activity at Serica Energy

In related news, insider Martin Copeland bought 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 185 ($2.35) per share, with a total value of £35,150 ($44,674.63). 42.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Serica Energy

Serica Energy plc, an upstream oil and gas company, identifies, acquires, explores, exploits, and produces oil and gas reserves in the United Kingdom. The company holds 100% interest in the Keith oil field; 98% interest in the Bruce field; and 50% interest in the Rhum gas field located in the Northern North Sea, as well as 18% non-operating interest in the Erskine field located in Central North Sea.