Serica Energy (LON:SQZ) Trading 7% Higher - Here's Why

Serica Energy plc (LON:SQZ - Get Free Report) was up 7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 163.40 ($2.21) and last traded at GBX 163 ($2.21). Approximately 4,203,502 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,166,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 152.40 ($2.07).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Berenberg Bank reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 200 ($2.71) price objective on shares of Serica Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Serica Energy Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.31, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of £799.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.79, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 136.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 136.33.

Serica Energy (LON:SQZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 1st. The company reported GBX 0.24 ($0.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Serica Energy had a negative net margin of 1.09% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Serica Energy plc will post 30.373444 EPS for the current year.

Serica Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of GBX 10 ($0.14) per share. This represents a yield of 7.45%. This is a boost from Serica Energy's previous dividend of $9.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Serica Energy's payout ratio is presently -1,585.15%.

Serica Energy Company Profile

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.